


Deeper into the Woods

by PuddingEarl



Series: Beyond the Woods [1]
Category: Heart of the Woods (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Mystery, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:08:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 60,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddingEarl/pseuds/PuddingEarl
Summary: It's been a year since the events in Eysenfeld, and life has mostly returned to normal for Maddie. Until Tara calls her up right as her last semester ends to ask for help that is. Despite her better judgement, Maddie agrees. Accompanied by Abigail, she sets off to help Tara investigate a new mystery in another small town in the middle of no where.
Relationships: Abigail Dalsing/Madison Raines, Tara Bryck/Morgan Fisher
Series: Beyond the Woods [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2163648
Comments: 86
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since it came out I've been quietly hoping that someone would write a nice, long Heart of the Woods fic. After going back and replaying it, I came to the sad conclusion that sometimes you just have to make your own food, so here we are. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. There's music with links to a youtube repeater for most of the songs to help set the atmosphere. I've kept it almost entirely to songs from the soundtrack for ~authenticity~ (the one exception being just a youtube link because I wrote the whole section without a repeat so you won't take that long to read it)
> 
> Not sure when the next one will be as this is my secondary priority for writing but whenever I go to do it I end up powering out a ton of work so it might still be pretty quick, who knows. Comments are, as with all of my works, greatly appreciated.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Into Another World](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=o_fkNJcK6So)_

Another plane across the ocean. Another train. That's how I find myself on the way to be part of another episode of Taranormal.

Another long ride on another old train.

I've lost count how many times I've wondered if this is the right decision. I'm probably wasting my vacation on a wild goose chase.

Staring out the window at the snowy forest that rushes past, I silently hope that it's a wild goose chase.

Beside me, Abigail murmurs softly. I turn to look at her, leaning her head against my shoulder. She passed out several hours ago. I wish I could do the same, but where she is she's putting a little too much pressure on my shoulder. If I try to relax, she starts to push me over. I don't have the heart to wake her though, so I let her sleep, and turn back to the window.

The view reminds me of Eysenfeld in a lot of ways. But in just as many it doesn't. The trees are all different, though I couldn't tell you how. The forest we're travelling through is sparser too. I feel as if it might be possible for me to navigate it without a guide. Or magic. The thought of magic brings me back to thinking about why I'm even here.

It's been a little over a year since we left Eysenfeld behind. I went back to school to return to my Film degree, while Morgan and Tara carried on Taranormal. Abigail had a bit of a harder time integrating with the world, but with a little help from Tara she set up a channel of her singing. Naturally, she was a hit.

I'd occasionally help out with Taranormal, whenever they needed something special in the editing, or wanted to film something that I could get to easily enough. Every time I did, Tara was overjoyed.

She never pushed for more though. Never even really asked for it. She'd just mention what she was up to, and sometimes I'd offer. It was a good system.

Which is why when she called me a few days after leaving to ask me to come and help, I was surprised.

“Hey Mads, your semester's done now, right?” She'd asked. I looked at the final paper I'd just submitted. The last thing I needed to do.

“As of two minutes ago.”

“Cool, cool. Hey, so uh, I think I need your help on this one. Y'know, if that's cool.”

I paused, a chill running through my veins. Tara asking for help meant something was up.

“Uh, I think I can make it. Why, what's up?” I lied. I had made a few plans already. None of them were as important as Tara though.

“I think we've stumbled into a bit of an Eysenfeld situation.” Tara said.

“I'll be there.” I didn't even need to think about it.

Now that I was thinking about it however, it seemed silly. Tara hadn't even elaborated on what she meant. For all I knew, she could be over-reacting. It wouldn't be out of character. The first ghost hunt she went on after we got back she was convinced she'd found something. I was cynical.

Less so than usual, of course. I knew what was out there now. But I doubted she'd find something twice in a row.

I was right.

And the time after that.

And the time after that.

On their fourth hunt, Tara was back to her normal self. She clearly believed what she was being told, but she lacked that same conviction. So when she'd called me, and I heard it again, I believed her.

As the woods outside fly past me, I understood why she was so convinced. It felt like something was out there. Though it could be something simple and benign, like fairies.

A small snort escapes me. The fact I could consider fairies benign still astounds me. There's so much I don't know about them, even after being queen. But there's also so much I do know. Enough that I can safely say they aren't a threat. Not without moonsickness at least. I hoped that wouldn't be the case here. One moonsick fairy was enough for me.

My speculation slowly reaches it's end. Until I arrived, speculation was all I had. Speculation and hope. Thankfully, it wouldn't be much longer until we arrived.

Gently, I reach out, and stoke Abigail's hair. She smiles in her sleep, and shifts a little, before opening her eyes.

“Hello Sweetheart.” I say softly.

“Hello.” She replies. “Have I been asleep long?”

“Several hours.” Abigail gasps.

“I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave you all alone on such a long ride.”

“It's okay. I appreciated the time to think.” Abigail looks at me slyly.

“I understand. I have a hard time thinking when you're around too.” She flirts. I laugh softly.

“Thank you Sweetheart.” We fall into a comfortable silence as the train glides to a stop, standing up to pick up our things, before stepping off onto the platform.

The first thing that hits me is how cold the breeze is, as it weaves it's way up a sleeve, and into my bones.

The second thing that hits me is Tara.

_Music:[Episode One](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

“Mads! You made it!” She exclaims in my ear, several decibels too high. I wince for a second, before I realize she's hugging me. I quickly hug back.

“Of course I did.” I say softly. “I missed you too.”

“Oh, yeah. I missed you a ton.” Tara says, her volume back to it's usual loudness.

“I think she can tell that much babe.” Morgan teases from behind her. I look over her shoulder and smile at Morgan, standing behind her. Her hairs grown out just a little more since we last saw each other. She's been experimenting with it since we left, trying to work out just what style she likes most. So far, Tara has loved every choice she's made.

“It's good to see you again Morgan.” I say.

“You too.” Morgan looks about to say something more, but Abigail cuts her off with a hug of her own.

By the time Tara lets go of me, the train is already gone. Now that we're apart, I can see she's still dressed in her usual, on-brand look. How she isn't cold out here still baffles me.

“Catching up is nice and all, but could we do it somewhere warmer?” I ask. “And maybe after I've gotten a good night's sleep?”

“Right! Yeah, we can do that. We've got a cabin here, big enough for all of us. We can drive back, and get you some coffee to warm up.” Tara suggests. I frown slightly.

“Two questions.”

“Yes?”

“Drive in a car?”

“Yup. This middle of nowhere town actually has cars.” Tara says. Small mercies.

“Is this coffee just an excuse to try and keep me up to talk about this episode?” Tara flashes me her signature grin, complete with cocky finger guns.

“Maybe.” I smile. She's so obvious, I can't even be upset. We start heading for the car.

“So, when you said you had an Eysenfeld situation, you didn't just mean that you're in a snowy village in the middle of no where and staying in a cabin, right?” I half expect her to admit that's the only connection. Tara flashes me a cocky grin.

“Yup. I think we've actually found something cool.” She says. “And maybe a bit dangerous.”

“So you called me?”

“Well yeah. You're the danger expert. Besides, I wouldn't want you getting mad I froze you out of this one.” I wince slightly.

“Don't say that. But you could've warned me if you thought it was dangerous.”

“I did. What did you think Eysenfeld situation meant?” Tara looks at me, genuinely oblivious to how I might've gotten the wrong idea. In her defense, I should have assumed something like this from what she said. But I didn't. Not that it changed anything. I'd have come anyway. And I know Abigail wouldn't allow me to leave her behind.

“I suppose you're right.” I say. We reach the car, and I come to a dead stop. What's before me might be even worse than another carriage.

Sitting on the narrow, snow-covered street is an old, beat up Beetle. It looks like it's been on the road longer than I've been alive. I look at Abigail, who seems equally leery of the car.

“Are we sure this machine works?” She asks what I'm thinking.

“Okay, I know it doesn't look great. And sure, it's old, but this baby runs so smooth. Trust me.” Tara replies. I turn to look at Morgan, who smiles.

“We haven't had any problems yet. It sounds fine. We're renting it off the local mechanic, so I'm sure he wouldn't give us a dud car.” With Morgan's seal of approval, I resign myself to my fate. We load our bags into the trunk, and Abigail and I climb into the back. To my relief, it's Morgan who settles into the drivers seat.

“Are you sure babe? I don't mind driving.” Tara says.

“But I'm sure they do.” Morgan replies. She's been learning how to drive since we moved back to America, and I think she's doing a wonderful job of it.

Tara meanwhile is a bit...reckless behind the wheel, to put it politely.

“Thank you Morgan. I feel safer already.” Abigail says. Tara looks at her with betrayal.

“How could you?” She asks. Abigail just smiles sweetly.

“As lovely as this year has been, I'd like to have many more before I die again.” Tara slumps her shoulders in defeat, and turns back to the front.

“Alright, let's go.”

_Music:[Cold Comforts](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

The drive is thankfully short, and very warm. The car's heater is exactly what I needed right now, and I bask in all it's glory. Outside, I can see the village that we're visiting. Arkrick. It's bigger than Eysenford, and more spread out, though I can't say by how much.

Once again, our cabin is on the outskirts. It makes sense, where better to be when searching for magical forest spirits? We pull up outside, and the car is brought to a stop. The heater stops with it, and I try to hurry the departure, before the cold sets in and ruins my good mood. Tara and Morgan are kind enough to fetch our bags, while Abigail and I walk up to the cabin.

The door's unlocked, and we step inside to see a large fire roaring in the fireplace. I immediately wonder how dangerous that was. It's too cosy to really bother me however. I just want to go and sit in front of it.

Abigail joins me, snuggling up against me.

“This is strange.” She says softly.

“I'm sorry. I hadn't thought about how this must feel for you.” I reply.

“It's okay. I don't mind it. It's just...it's like everything is so the same, but so different.”

“Tell me about it. So long as there isn't an evil mayor out to get us, I don't mind it though.”

“Neither do I. Especially being here with you.” I blush slightly, and hope that it's hidden by the fire. Even after so long, Abigail still makes me feel so special. I can't imagine how I ever lived without her.

The mood is ruined as Tara and Morgan come inside, and drop out bags on the floor.

“Okay, how about I make that coffee.” Tara suggests.

“I'll do it.” Morgan cuts her off, heading for the kitchen. Unlike the previous cabin, this one is a separate room, though the doorway between them is so large, I can see most of what's going on in there. Tara settles onto the couch, and smiles.

“I'm glad you're here Mads. You too Abigail.”

“I couldn't exactly leave you out here on your own.” I reply.

“Morgan's here.”

“Yes. It's her that I'm worried about.” Abigail laughs, while Tara scowls. After a second, she starts laughing too, and I join them. I'm so glad that after everything, we're still best friends. While we're laughing Morgan comes out with a tray of mugs, and places them on the table.

Abigail and I turn around, and scoot closer to the table, still sitting on the floor. The fire is too nice to properly leave. I take a sip of coffee, and feel some energy seep back into me. It's not enough to stay up all night, but it might be enough to listen to Tara.

“Okay. I think I can process whatever you need to tell me about this place.” I say finally. Tara's face lights up.

“Yes! Okay, this is going to be awesome. So look, we got an email from a fan recently, talking about the Eysenfeld episode, and asking if we might be able to help her too.” Tara begins to explain. I nod, thinking back to the episode we did on our time in Eysenfeld.

It was a special episode, nothing like most of the ones we put out. The four of us spent a week debating if we should make it, and what we should put in. Everyone's position changed several times throughout, but eventually we settled on what we all agreed should be in it.

The episode was devoid of a lot of the usual B-roll footage. We used some of the interviews, and other things we'd filmed to give context, but for the most part it was Tara, in our apartment, telling the story of what happened.

The abridged story. We left out the bit about Abigail coming back with us. And changed her identity entirely. Admitting to the forgery involved in getting her home would be a mistake.

The video ended on the video of Tara leaving a final message. We all agreed if anything would show it was real, this would.

The reception was mixed. Most people complimented us on mixing it up, a few people thought we were full of shit, and some outright believed it. The number of believers since has slowly risen, and Tara keeps getting emails saying they believe her now, because of how she's changed since that episode.

“Don't you get that a lot?” I ask. I don't actually know any more, since Morgan took over the emails.

“Not so many actually.” Morgan says. “But this one was special.”

“Look, I'll pull it up for you. Give me a sec.” Tara jumps up, and runs off down a hallway, returning a moment later with her laptop. She quickly opens her emails, and brings up the one that matters, before turning it towards me.

I lean in to read it.

_Music:_ [ _A Place You Don't Belong_ ](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)

My blood goes cold.

“About the fairy you mentioned, the evil one. Was it Moonsick?” The first line of the email reads.

We never said that word in the video. It had been an intentional decision. Specifically meant to provide people who might know something a chance to prove it.

People like this one. I glance down at the name. Sarah.

I go back to reading. After the opening question, she launches in to how she needs our help. She talks about a local legend, a terrifying beast that lives in the forest nearby known as the White Hunter.

Apparently it lures people out there and eats them. When it does, it can steal their voice, or their face, to try and trick others into coming out.

The village history also mentions a cult that worships the White Hunter. Recently, someone was found dead in the woods. He'd been dead for a week when they found him, but everyone had seen him around the village earlier that day. When they went to his house, he was gone, but it was clear someone had been there until moments before.

He wasn't seen again after that.

The final line is a plea for help. Sarah seems to think that we can do something to help stop the monster, and the cult that she's convinced is in town. I look up from the email.

“A cult.” I say.

“I know. Isn't it cool? How could I say no to that?” Tara replies. The gravity of the situation is clearly lost on her. Beside me, Abigail finishes reading the email.

“It hunts in the forest right?” She asks. Tara nods. “Is this cabin safe?” There's a long pause. Clearly Tara hadn't considered that.

“Yes.” Morgan says. “I made sure to ask in the email exchange.”

“Oh phew. Thanks babe, I thought I'd really messed up there.” Tara flashes her a grin. Morgan smiles back at her.

“Have you met Sarah?” I ask.

“We met on the first day. She's pretty cool. We chatted a bit about the cult and stuff, but she didn't know a ton. There's some books she thinks might help though, so she's getting them together. I told her not to rush since you were coming. She's gonna drop them off tomorrow.” Tara explains. I sigh, and nod.

“Well, that's good at least.” Even with the coffee, I'm starting to get drowsy. “We can talk about it more tomorrow. I need to sleep.”

“Sounds good. We'll stay up a little longer.” Tara replies. I nod.

“Okay. We should try and get a little in-sync though.” I tell her.

“We will, don't worry. I'll wake you up right after we wake up.” Tara says.

“Good. Where's our room?”

“I can show you.” Morgan gets up, and leads the way down the hallway. I climb to my feet, and wearily trudge after her. The shock of the email, and what I just walked into must've taken the last of my energy. Morgan gestures to a room, and Abigail and I enter. We quickly change into our pyjamas, and climb into bed.

As we start to settle in, I look across the room at the window. It looks out onto the woods. I can't help but feel a little uneasy, like something out there is watching me. It might be. I get up and close the blinds. Hopefully there won't be a repeat of Eysenfeld, with Morgan knocking on it to scare me to death.

With the window dealt with, I climb back into bed, and snuggle into Abigail's waiting arms.

“Good night Madison.” She says softly.

“Good night Abigail.” I reply. The rest on the train must've given her a bit more energy, I sleepily muse. I'm glad. It means she can stroke my hair as I fall asleep.

It feels nice.

\-----

I wake up the next morning feeling refreshed. Despite only being yesterday, the journey to get here feels detached, like it was so much longer ago. From past experience, I know that's because the beginning of the journey was more than a day ago, and without an easy beginning to latch onto, the rest feels foreign too.

Beside me, Abigail is still fast asleep. She clearly needs it.

I slip out of bed quietly, trying not to disturb her, and change into my clothes for the day, before creeping out into the living room.

It's early, and the cabin is quiet, only the occasional sound of crockery tapping together suggests anyone else is awake.

_Music:[Restless One](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=Iz-Lvd9sDHU)_

Morgan is sitting in the living room, a cup of coffee in hand.

“Good morning Maddie.” She says softly as I creep out. I smile.

“Good morning.”

“Would you like some coffee?” She offers. I nod quickly.

“If it's not too much trouble.” I say. Morgan smiles.

“Sure.” She gets up, and heads for the kitchen. Lacking anything else to do, I follow her. Now that I'm here, I see the kitchen is actually a bit bigger than the one in Eysenfeld. I lean on the door frame as I inspect it. It's nice. Looking around I can clearly see that Morgan bought some things in the city before coming out here. There's no way she picked up a selection of spices like this in Arkrick.

Since leaving Eysenfeld, Morgan has delighted in picking up new recipes to cook that she simply couldn't manage before. It's been an interesting experience for all of us.

“Do you mind if we chat a little?” Morgan interrupts my thoughts suddenly.

“Sure, that sounds nice.”

“We hardly ever get to chat alone back home. Sometimes it feels like I hardly see you.”

“Sorry about that. I'm not avoiding you, I've just been busy with study.” I do feel bad. Morgan is just as much a part of my new family as Tara and Abigail, but we're the most distant of the group.

“Oh. I'm not blaming you. I understand. I've been busy with Taranormal too.”

“How are you taking to it?” Since helping Morgan learn the ropes, I haven't had a ton of involvement with it. I told her to ask if she needed anything, but she's been considerate enough to try and solve most problems without me.

“It's...fun. But hard work sometimes. Especially dealing with Tara.” I laugh.

“I think that's the hardest part of Taranormal.” I say. Morgan laughs too.

“It's worth it though. I think my editing's gotten a lot better too.”

“It has. I watched the latest episode. There's definitely a change in style, but you've really come into your own.”

“Thanks. I wanted it to seem like yours at first, but Tara said we should do something different.” Morgan pauses, thinking. “Not like, to push you out. Just...things are different now. With her, and us, and she thought it should show.” I nod. I get it.

“I think it works. I mean, it'd be weird going back to how things were after...y'know.” I say. Morgan nods, going quiet.

“Thank you for coming out here.”

“Of course.”

“I was kind of worried you wouldn't. After last time, I wouldn't blame you for staying away.” Morgan sounds very serious. I stand upright, not wanting to give this anything less than my full attention.

“Morgan. After Eysenfeld, I especially couldn't sit by and do nothing. Not after everything you went through. I'm never going to leave you and Tara alone to go through that again.” I say firmly. Morgan hesitates, then smiles.

“Thank you Maddie. That really means a lot to me.” I smile.

“You're welcome. Are you done with that coffee yet?”

“Oh, sorry!” Morgan laughs, and turns back to finish making it. She hands it to me once it's done, and we walk back out to the living room. We settle onto the couch, and sit in silence for a few minutes, while I sip my coffee, and gather my thoughts for the coming day.

“So, we're meeting with our host today right? Sarah, I think her name was?” I ask. Morgan nods.

“That's right.”

“And you've met her?”

“A few times.”

“What did you think of her?”

“She seemed alright. She's not as hands-on about showing us around as I was with you, but she's been better than most of our hosts since then.” Morgan says.

“Do you believe that there's something out there?” Now that the shock of the email last night has worn off, my usual cynicism is starting to creep back. It's not that I doubt she could be telling the truth. Not any more. It's just habit now.

And besides, a face-stealing monster that hunts humans and a cult aren't exactly in the same field as forest spirits and fairies. There's no evidence yet to say that this isn't a big hoax we're being pulled into.

But then, she knew the word moonsick. It could just be coincidence. A lucky guess. Or maybe there's a history of fairies tied to the other legends, and that's one of the few truths that carried through.

Somehow I doubt it though.

“I think so.” Morgan says, putting a hand to her mouth as she thinks. “I'm not sure if it's what they think.” I nod.

“I was thinking the same thing. Assuming there is something out there. This could just be another elaborate hoax that got lucky.” I try to think if we ever let the word moonsick slip anywhere. I don't think we did.

“Well, we'll just have to find out right?” Morgan replies. I smile.

“I suppose so. When is she getting here?”

“Around 10.” Morgan says. I glance over at the clock on the wall. It's almost 8. We should probably begin to wake the others up if we want them to be ready for our hosts arrival.

“Alright. I'll go wake up Abby, then we can do breakfast?” I suggest.

“I'll get started cooking. Can you wake Tara up as well?”

“Sure thing.”

_Music:_ [ _The Time of Smiling_ ](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)

I get up, and wake up Abigail with a gentle kiss. She smiles as she stirs.

“Good morning Sweetheart.” I say softly.

“Good morning. Have I overslept?”

“No. I just got up a little early. Morgan's making breakfast now so we're all ready when Sarah gets here.” I explain. Abigail smiles sleepily.

“Oh, good. I was worried I'd upset you.” She teases.

“You Abigail? Never.” I reply.

“Good. Give me a moment and I'll get up.” She says. I nod.

“I'll go wake up Tara while you do.”

“Okay.” I head out of our room, and bang on Tara's door, calling her to get up. There's a short delay before she grumbles back at me. I go back to check that Abigail has gotten up, and is getting dressed, before returning to my coffee on the couch.

I don't have to wait long before Abigail and Tara both come trudging out. They're met with their own cups of coffee from Morgan, and then breakfast of toast, bacon, and eggs. This does wonders to wake them up, and in no time the energy in the room has returned.

We spend the next hour just catching up about life. Not much has happened of course, but that doesn't stop us. We're always so busy that it's hard to find time like this to just talk.

It's not long before I've totally forgotten why we're even here. It just feels like a vacation that we're taking together.

“Should we go back to Eysenfeld one day?” I ask suddenly.

“Why would we?” Tara asks in response. I shrug.

“After we were done with everything we just suddenly left. It might be nice to return and actually have fun there for a bit.” I try and explain my thoughts.

“Did you want to stay longer?” Tara seems confused.

“No! No way. I'd had enough of it then. But maybe now it would be nice. And we might be able to see the fairies again, and maybe a new forest spirit too.”

“I think I'd find that too sad.” Abigail says.

I kick myself internally. Of course she wouldn't want to see the replacement of her old friend.

“You're right, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested it.” I say.

“It's okay. I think it might be a nice idea one day.” Abigail smiles.

“I agree. It might be nice one day.” Morgan says.

“Let's talk about it after we're done here.” Tara suggests. “I mean, we could push our flights back a bit, and make a trip over before we leave.”

I hadn't even considered we were in the same country. It's been so long since we went to Eysenfeld, and so much happened while we were there, that it felt like a whole other world in some ways.

Before I can think of something else to say, we're interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Coming!” Tara calls, bouncing up from her chair and moving quickly to the door, before I have a chance to prepare myself.

_Music:[White Walls and Half-Timber](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)_

Tara throws the door open to reveal a girl on the other side. She's a bit shorter than Tara or I, and I immediately find myself slightly jealous of her look.

She's absolutely nailing the hippie goth look, with long, straight black hair held in a bandanna, and a mix of black and dark greens for her clothes. In her arms rests a pile of books.

“Morning! Hope I didn't wake you again!” She says.

“Nah, we've been up for a while.” Tara replies. “Come on in, I'll introduce you.”

“Introduce me? To who?” The girl, who I assume is Sarah, asks. She looks around confused. Her eyes fall on my and Abigail, and her face immediately lights up.

“Sarah, this is Mads and Abby. Mads, Abby, this is Sarah.”

“Oh my god, it's so good to meet you Madison!” Sarah practically shrieks in excitement, stepping inside quickly. She dumps the books onto the table, and thrusts a hand towards me as I recoil away.

“Oh. Um. Pleased to meet you too. And just Maddie is fine.” I take the offered hand, and receive a very enthusiastic handshake.

“Got it. I was so disappointed when you left. I mean, I get it, you've gotta live your life, you do you and all, but I was always so happy when you appeared on screen. You were so funny!” Sarah keeps fangirling in my direction. I look awkwardly over her shoulder at Tara.

She's absolutely livid.

“Thank you? I'm really not anything special, I assure you.” I say, pushing Sarah back a little. She takes the hint, and moves back to give me space. She still hasn't actually sat, just squatting on the floor in front of me.

“I've always wanted to ask, what was dying like? No one seems to care about that part of the Eysenfeld episode, and it's so weird to me.”

“Cold and unpleasant.” I reply. “At least, that was how the process felt. I don't know what anything beyond that is like. I didn't actually die.” It's strange to be talking to a stranger about this.

“Right, right, it was like...something in between death and life right? But you were saved by another ghost, and then you both came back with fairy magic. No one ever asks what happened to that other ghost. Why didn't you mention it in the video?” Sarah continues to pester me with questions.

“Well, um.” I try and start.

“They were just trying to protect me.” Abigail says abruptly. Sarah's gaze immediately swaps to her.

“Abby, right?” She says. Abigail nods.

“Or Abigail.”

“Got it. So, you're the other ghost? Why didn't you go back to your home in Eysenfeld?” Sarah asks.

“Because it's been over 200 years since I died.” Abigail says. I smile as I see Sarah come to an abrupt halt, thinking over what she's been told.

“Y'know, that actually answers a lot of questions.” Sarah chews on her lip, clearly thinking. Abigail leans over and wraps herself around my arm.

“And because I didn't want to leave my girlfriend.” She adds. This brings Sarah to a complete halt.

“Well...shit. Uh, congratulations you two I guess. How does the...y'know...age gap work out?” Behind her Tara starts laughing.

“It's not a concern. I spent those 200 years in a forest. Sometimes I feel like Maddie is the older one out of the two of us.” Abigail explains.

I smile. She is just too good. If we'd met under different circumstances, I would be convinced I didn't deserve her. Even as things are, I sometimes think I haven't done enough.

“Okay, cool. That makes sense. Well, I'm super stoked to meet you both. I hope we can get along great in the course of, y'know, the investigating.”

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)_

Sarah stands up, and moves around the table to sit on the floor in front of us. The mood immediately shifts, as she gets serious, and the weight of what's in front of us sinks in.

Some of the books on the table look positively ancient. I'm not sure we can safely open them, let alone read their contents.

“Those look older than me.” Abigail remarks. Despite the weight of what we're looking at I can't help but chuckle. Tara joins in.

“Tell me about it. So, where do we start?” She asks.

“Well, this is the first record we have of the White Hunter. Though it's a record of a record.” Sarah says, picking out a small, leather-bound book. It looks to be in better shape than some of them.

“Cool! What's it say?” Tara wastes no time jumping in. Sarah flips through the book a bit, before settling on the section she wants.

“So, this is a journal. It talks about a lot of boring stuff, but there's one bit about an expert in monster's who came to the town. I can read from it, or you can have a look yourselves.” Sarah says, holding the book forward.

“I'll have a look.” I say. I know I'm the fastest reader out of everyone here. Sarah hands me the book, and I quickly skim through, before settling on the relevant passage and start to read.

_A man came to town claiming to be an expert in beasts of myth. Though he hasn't said as much, it's clear to see from the equipment he carries, and the confidence with which he speaks that he's out to hunt them. He'd heard tell of the White Hunter, and came to town to see it for himself. Naturally, we told him all that we could about it's ability to steal your face and your voice, and pretend to be you. From what I said, he gave us some suggestions about what it could be. I've done my best to recall all that he said._

A list follows this paragraph. I don't bother to read it in depth, and just skim through them. There's a lot of things I've never heard of, as well as some more common myths. Seeing them, I wonder just how many are real. Before last year I'd have called a man like this a con-artist. I might still have doubts, if not for the words “Moonsick Fairy” listed among them. I skip ahead to the next paragraph, and keep reading.

_Schmidt mentioned the record of the White Hunter in the town hall. Naturally, our expert wanted to read it immediately. Wagner was happy to let him read it. If we're lucky, he might be able to do something about it._

I reach the end of the entry, and flip the page, looking for more. There isn't anything else. I would be disappointed, but with such old records we're lucky to have this much.

“Well, that answers one question.” I say, as I hand the book back.

“Which question?” Abigail asks.

“How Sarah knew the word moonsick. It's one of the suggestions for the White Hunter.” I reply.

“Do you think it's a possibility?” Sarah asks. She sounds very concerned. I shake my head.

“Not from what I heard about the man that was found...dead, recently. If his body was found while there was someone looking like him walking around then it doesn't fit.” I try not to be too crude or impolite when discussing the matter, but Sarah doesn't seem to mind.

“That's right. Evelyn stole the body of her host, and left the old one dead. If there's a body, then it couldn't be a fairy.” Morgan agreed.

“Unless it's a spooky new type of fairy we've never seen before!” Tara suggests.

“If that's the case, then I'm afraid none of our past experience will be of much use.” I reply.

“Then let's assume it's not.” Sarah says. I nod in agreement.

“I take it some of the older books you have are other records, but not the one mentioned in the town hall?” I ask.

“That's right! Though with how old they are, maybe we should leave them for later, and stick to what's more recent.” Sarah replies.

“That sounds like a good idea. Can we hold onto these to read on our own time?”

“Oh, yeah, for sure. Whatever works for you.”

“What are you thinking Mads?” Tara asks. She's already clued in to the fact that I'm starting to formulate a plan. It's a vague one. Possibly a bad one. But it's something.

“I'm thinking we should approach this like any other episode of Taranormal at first.” I reply.

_Music:[Episode One](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

There's a long pause, followed by an awkward laugh from Tara.

“Like, you sitting it out? Or…?”

I blink.

Right.

That's what the normal is right now.

“Not...exactly what I had in mind. Normal if all of us were working on it. I mean, go into town and talk to the locals a bit. Film some B roll to get an idea of what the place is like. We can probe for some insights, or directions from townsfolk, and then in the evening we can read up.”

“But what about...y'know, the cult?” Tara asks.

“We'll make sure that everyone who can manage it seems very cynical.” I say.

I know Tara can't do cynical for the life of her.

“In that case, why don't you two go alone?” Morgan suggests.

“Oh, good thinking!” Tara says.

“Um, why?” I'm not too sure what the reasoning here is.

“Abigail is too sweet to look cynical. And I've been told I'm hard to read. Plus, the more people there, the more legitimate you look. If it's just you two it seems less serious.” Morgan explains.

I can see the reasoning. We did get the occasional sceptical look when we introduced ourselves, and it became clear that Tara only had one person helping her.

Those usually vanished once we actually got to work though.

“And so you two will stay back to read over the notes?” I ask.

“Yes. We can message you if something comes up.” Morgan replies.

I take a deep breath and sigh.

“Alright. Does that sound good to you Tara?”

I look over at her. She looks even more excited than usual.

“What? Getting to work with you like old times again? Hell yeah that sounds good.” She replies.

I smile sheepishly. I'd almost consider this a mistake, but she's so genuine right now I can't help but be caught by her enthusiasm.

So long as she doesn't try to push me into coming back.

“Okay, then what's the plan?” I ask.

“We could start with the mayor.” Sarah suggests.

“That sounds as good as anything else.” I reply.

“Yeah, let's do this!” Tara declares. I roll my eyes at her, and get to my feet.

“I'll go grab our things.”

_Music:[White Walls and Half-Timber](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)_

I grab the camera gear from Tara's room. It's same as I remember it, still packed exactly how I like it. I taught Morgan the same way to handle it, and it seems she's kept it up. I'm honestly a little flattered.

We walk outside, and I see Sarah's car parked beside ours. It's a near identical Beetle, but where ours is blue, hers is red. It looks to be in slightly better condition too.

“How about I drive you into town? In case Morgan or Abby need to drive into town.” Sarah offers.

I laugh at the idea of Abigail driving. She's still petrified of most forms of transport. She's gotten better about being driven around, but the thought of doing it herself is still too much.

“We'd appreciate that.” I say. Tara nods.

“Super cool of you.”

We all get into her car, me in the back seat again with all of the gear. The drive into town is fairly pleasant, all things considered. It's a little more modern looking than Eysenfeld, but not by much.

As we drive, I find myself starting to wonder how places like this even exist. I had been too grumpy back in Eysenfeld to ask questions, and at the end of the day it was all for Evelynn anyway. But what about here?

“Hey Sarah. How does Arkrick support itself?” I ask.

“Oh, there's some mines up in the mountains. A lotta people work up there.” Sarah answers. I look out the window at the mountains. There's a lot of trees covering them. A small sliver of doubt creeps it's way into my mind.

Sarah called us here with the word moonsick. But that wasn't related to this mystery. It's not even from a source local to this town really. For all we know, we're on another wild goose chase. The only other evidence is a dead man we don't know for sure is dead, and claims he was seen walking around town afterwards.

I've watched enough Sherlock Holmes movies to know the basic rule of deduction. Rule out the impossible, and then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Shapeshifting monsters are impossible. Secret identical twins are just improbable.

At least, that's what I would have thought before. Now, I'm not so sure.

“Doesn't the White Hunter cause problems for getting up to the mines?” I ask.

“It's never been a problem before. Some workers are a bit concerned though. They're on strike right now.” Sarah tells me.

“I see.” I reply tactfully. I'm not sure how skeptical I am right now, but I'm meant to be playing the role today. It'll help if I have some actual doubts, right?

We finish the drive into town, and Sarah parks us outside an office. As promised, a group of five men stand around outside with signs calling for the mine to be closed. In a town like this, I suppose that's a big protest. To me it just seems petty.

“Here we are, the mayor's office. Are you ready to head in?” Sarah asks.

“Hell yeah!” Tara replies, throwing out her “patented” finger guns. Sarah smiles.

“Cool, I'll show you in.”

We all climb out of the car and, with a little effort, get the equipment out. Once we're done, we head for the office, curious stares from the miners following us the whole way. Stepping inside, the office is very quaint. We're in a small reception room, with an older woman sitting at the desk.

“Good morning Ada!” Sarah says cheerfully.

“Good morning Sarah. And who might these strangers be?” The woman replies. I assume she's Ada.

“I'm Tara, and this is Maddie. We're here filming a little show about Arkrick, and it's local legends.” Tara offers quickly. Her charisma is still just as fierce as when we last worked together. It's been long enough that I'm a little caught off-guard by it all.

“I see. And what business do you have with mayor Wagner?” Ada asks. The similar last name to the one in the book isn't lost on me.

“Well, we're just getting started, and we figured what better place, y'know? Assuming he doesn't mind, or isn't too busy. We just kinda figured he might want the chance to set the tone going forward.” Tara explains.

I'm kind of impressed by how smoothly she managed to deliver that. It's not necessarily a threat, but if the mayor wants something hidden, he's going to take the bait for sure.

“I see. I'll ask him.” Ada stands, and steps out of the room, leaving us to stand alone. I check the camera, while Tara peers around the room.

“Oh neat, they have an Alexa!” Tara declares.

I open my mouth to stop her.

I'm too late.

“Alexa, play Despacito!” Tara says.

_Music:[Despacito](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytzbr4SiKE)_

I let out a loud sigh.

“We're trying to be professional here Tara.” I say.

“No Mads, we're trying to be natural.” Tara replies, shooting me finger guns. I roll my eyes.

“You are going to get us thrown out.” I tell her.

“Worth it.”

“Can you take this seriously for two minutes?” I snap, raising my voice slightly.

“I'm not actually angry.” I mouth to her immediately after. Tara takes a second to process what I've said, but she grins and nods.

“Geez, you don't have to get angry. I get it. Let's just...be cool.” Tara replies, also raising her voice a bit. I take a deep breath and sigh.

“Okay.” I say. Before we can say anything else, the door creaks open and Ada steps out.

“Mayor Wagner will see you now.” She announces. We head for the door, as she shuts up the Alexa. Behind us, Sarah waves.

“I'll catch up with you later.” She says softly. Tara gives her a thumbs up over her shoulder.

_Music:_ [ _Daggersmile_ ](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=j5UY0t0GamA)

Walking into the room, we get our first look at the mayor. He's a short, balding man in his 40s, who's clearly put on a little too much weight. From the scowl on his face, I can tell this isn't going to be a pleasant exchange.

“Tara and Maddie, correct?” He says, as we walk in.

“That's right. Pleased to meet you!” Tara replies, stepping forward and offering a hand. It's regarded for a moment, before finally the mayor shakes it.

“Let's hope the feeling turns out mutual. So what can I do for you?” That's cold.

“Well, not sure what you were told by Ada, but we're filming a show about local legends, ghost stories, that sort of thing. We heard that Arkrick has a cool history of stories, so we wanted to check it out.” Tara explains.

“And since we'll be here for a little bit, we wanted to meet you first, and make sure we don't step on any toes.” I quickly add. The mayor nods slowly.

“Well girls, I'm afraid you'll be rather disappointed to find that stories is all we have.” The mayor answers.

“We've worked with less before.” I mutter. Tara flashes a sheepish grin at the mayor as he raises an eyebrow. Good.

“Anyway, do you mind if we film an interview with you about the town?” Tara asks.

“Well, if it'll give me an excuse to avoid those protesters, I suppose so.”

I set the camera up, as I try to get a gauge on this man. He appears to be forthcoming thus far, but if a man has actually died recently, it sounds like we'd find more than stories, even if they're unrelated. Once we're set up, I hand Tara the microphone, and start recording.

“Okay! Thanks for giving us the time Mayor Wagner. Would you mind just introducing yourself for us real quick?” Tara asks, holding the microphone out. Thankfully, the mayor actually leans into it to speak.

“My name is Robert Wagner, I'm the mayor of Arkrick, and I have been for the past 15 years.”

“Great, thanks. So, what can you tell us about Arkrick? It seems like a pretty small place, what makes it unique?” Tara continues. I'm sad this isn't a real episode, as her questions would make a great opener for the video. Though, I suppose there's no reason it isn't a real episode. I'm just assuming that if I'm here it won't be.

“Unique? Well, not a lot I suppose. We're just a small mining village like any other in these parts. There's lots of ore veins around here too small to justify a big operation, but big enough to be worth our time. That said, we are home to William Rohmer, the author. That's probably our biggest claim to fame.”

“That's cool. Do you think he'd be willing to chat with us?”

“I don't see why not.”

“Alright, so coming in here we noticed there was a bit of a protest going on outside. What was that about?” Tara asks. It's a pretty smooth transition.

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately a young man died out in the woods recently. The miners are concerned about their well-being on the trip up and back. We're tried to assure them that everything is fine, but they won't listen.” The mayor explains.

“Oh, that's sad. How did he die?” Tara asks.

“Animal attack. Probably a bear, we think. We've got a few people out looking for the animal, but I assure you, the miners are completely safe.”

“I see. We heard rumors that the attack might be a local cryptid called the White Hunter? What do you think?”

“I think that's a folktale that people keep dragging up. In my opinion, it's simply people scaremongering, and disrespecting the dead to make things a bit more interesting. There's not a lot to do in a town like Arkrick, and so unfortunately some people take to gossiping about it.”

“And what about the old stories of a cult? Is there anything to those?”

“I'm certain there was, but these days Arkrick is a peaceful town. And I would appreciate you not disturbing that. The past is in the past, and that's where we'd like to keep it.” Though he doesn't say it, there's clearly a bit of an implied threat in the mayor's tone.

“Alright, well, thanks a lot for your time mister Wagner. We'll be heading out now.” Tara says. She gets up, but I hold up a hand.

“I have one question, if you don't mind.”

“Of course.”

“The man who died, what did he do?”

“He was a delivery man. Took things out to the people who live further out in the woods. Not something I imagine you'd see people doing if there was some...weird hunter thing out there.” The mayor waves his hand dismissively.

“Sorry, one more question. Did he have family?”

“No, he moved here a few years ago. Never spoke much about his family. Is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I stop recording, and we step outside.

“What was that about?” Tara asks, the moment the door closes behind us. She's loud enough for them to hear.

“I'm just investigating a more sensible theory to present.” I reply curtly. Tara scowls, and looks away from me, conveniently directly at Ada. We walk out in tense silence, and find ourselves on the streets of Arkrick.

_Music:[Episode One](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

“Okay, now what?” Tara asks.

“B-roll?” I suggest.

“Sure, that works.” We start walking. Once we've gone a few blocks, and set up to film the village backdrop, Tara speaks again.

“So what did you think?” She asks. I pause, mulling it over.

“I think he's hiding something.” I say finally. “Or that he wants us to think he's hiding something.” Tara pauses at this.

“What do you mean?” She asks. I take a deep breath.

“Alright. Before I start, I want you to know that I'm not saying this is what I actually think.”

“Got it.”

“Okay. We have absolutely no proof any of this is legit. The only thing we know for sure is real is that the diary that guy left about a monster expert is about a guy who knows at least one thing is real. Beyond that, we've got no proof.” I explain.

“What about the guy who died?” Tara asks.

“He could've actually been killed by an animal.”

“And the guy they saw walking around?”

“An identical twin.” I reply. I know how ridiculous it sounds, but I need to lay out the theory at least. Tara pauses a second.

“Wait, what?”

“Let's assume for a second that he really did die, and there really is another man looking like him walking around for a few days. Then maybe he just had a twin who lived out in the forest. For all we know they swapped often, and once he was found dead the twin realized the game was up and ran away.”

“Wow Mads, that's a pretty sick conspiracy theory.” Tara replies.

“It's not...” I start to protest. “Okay, maybe it is.”

“That'd make a sick video too though.”

“That's assuming there's even a dead person. For all we know they found the journal, Sarah saw some connections and so they tried to gamble on it working to get us to promote the town.” Tara shrugs.

“Oh well. Not the first time that's happened.” She says.

“I know. I just...” I pause, mulling over what I want to say. “I don't want to have come out here for nothing.” Tara flashes me a cocky grin.

“Relax Mads. We'll find something cool out here, I'm sure.” She says. I smile.

“And if not?”

“Then we got to have a cool vacation with everyone.” Tara replies. I nod slowly, thinking about that. It wouldn't be so bad if that's all this is. Just a vacation we can all enjoy.

“You're right.” I reply. Tara beams.

“Great! Now, wanna go ask those miners some questions?”

“Lead the way.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a bit of time to get out. Life, y'know, happened. I'm sure you all know how it be. Anyway, here we go, chapter two, a solid sign of commitment to this dumb idea if I've ever seen one.
> 
> Apologies in advance, there's a few music bits here that have some tonal clashes. I didn't wanna give you too much work if you're following along with too many abrupt changes, so one or two times I just said "Eh, it's fine, we can be a little bit off in terms of mood." Besides, they're good songs that don't get enough time in game, so I'm gonna give them that chance. And also a bit more time as perspective characters to Abigail and Tara cause man did they get the short end of the stick.
> 
> As with all things I do, comments, kudos, bookmarks and first born children are all much appreciated.

**Abigail**

_Music:[Communion](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=2I4lTCPaEJs)_

Reading over these old books is a strange experience. Some of them date back to the time I was first alive. I could have read them before I died, if I had the means to travel.

In the modern world I've encountered a lot of things like that, of course, but never in their original form. It's always music, or stories, that have been copied over the ages and survived.

These books however, are unique. I couldn't read them anywhere else in the world. That fact makes them feel special to me. Like I'm sharing a secret with someone else from my first life.

In the year since leaving Eysenfeld, I've started to view my time as three separate lives. The first in Eysenfeld, before I was taken. The second in the forest. The third, since the day I saw Madison.

I've only mentioned this to Madison, of course. It feels somehow too personal to talk about with anyone else. She contested my definition, and thinks my third life should be considered from when I got on the train, or regained my body. Whenever she says this, I smile at her. It's amazing to me that she doesn't seem to fully understand my feelings.

She is my life.

Without Madison, I don't know what I would do. I don't know how I would go on. I've heard that such a mindset is considered unhealthy in this day and age, but I think I'm an exception.

Those people didn't spend 200 years alone in a forest. I've had more than my fair share of time. If I died now, I don't think I would upset. Not for myself, at least. Sometimes, I even consider doing something more with this new life. Volunteering at an animal shelter maybe. Doing something good with it, since I'm not sure I truly deserve it.

I don't however. I'm too selfish for that. I want to spend as much of this life that I have with Madison. I want to make her as happy as she's made me. I want the two of us to grow old together. It's a selfish wish, but it's the only wish I truly hold now.

I'm sure modern people would say that's selfish too.

I don't much care what they have to say though.

Looking back down at the book, I sigh. They aren't very helpful. At least they're easy for me to read. Beside me, Morgan seems to be having a little difficulty. She has to put in some effort to decipher what some words, or phrases, mean. I've done my best to help, but she insists on trying to learn herself.

She argues that if I stop to help her, it will be as if only she was working through the books. And there's so many, we'd never get through them all in a timely manner. She's not entirely wrong, so I continue reading.

This book however, has run it's course of usefulness. I place it in the third pile I've built in front of me.

“What are those piles?” Morgan asks, as she puts her second book aside.

“These are story piles.” I reply, with a big, proud grin. I'm sure Madison will be impressed I came up with this when she gets back.

“Story piles?”

“Yes. The stories about the hunter are often inconsistent, and sometimes contradictory. So I'm building piles of books that don't contradict each other.” I explain.

“Oh, so all the books from pile one could be true, and all the books from pile two could be true, but if one pile one book is true, all of pile two is false?” Morgan asks. I beam at her.

“Exactly! Well, not exactly, some books could go in two piles. In those cases, I stick them in with the ones that make the most sense. It's like I'm building theories.”

“That's a good idea. Can you tell me about them so I can sort what I read too?” Morgan asks.

“Of course. This one is the mundane animal theory.” I point to the first pile.

“That it's like...bears and stuff?”

“That's right. All descriptions of the White Hunter here give it very normal features, and all of them could just be a big grumpy bear. Or a very large wolf, I suppose. None of them make the others out to be false, if we assume that what they talk about is a false alarm.”

Morgan puts a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment, before picking up one of her own books, and placing it on the pile.

“This pile is the evil monster, evil cult pile. It suggests that the cult and the monster are linked, and that they're a curse that has befallen the town.” I explain, gesturing to the largest pile. As I do, Morgan places her other two books beside that pile.

“Next, we have the fighting cult and monster. This one suggests the cult and the monster are both evil, but that they are in a contest for the town. And finally, this small pile is the guardian monster pile.”

“So, the White Hunter might be like the forest spirit?” Morgan asks. I smile and nod.

“Exactly! Though there's only a few people suggesting it. There's an account of the hunter saving a boy from some bears. There's not much to go on there, but I'd like to think it's true.”

“Me too.” Morgan replies. We let the reason go unsaid. While it would be lovely to find another like the forest spirit, the simple truth is I'm scared. I'm sure Madison will have doubts, but I don't. The White Hunter is out there. And if some of what I've read is true, it sounds terrifying. I don't want to meet it. Not unless it's actually friendly, at least.

I pick up the next book to start reading again.

We read for another hour, until it starts to get dark outside. I'm starting to wonder when Madison and Tara will get home, and what we're doing for dinner, when I hear a car pull up outside.

_Music:[Is Something Out There](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=D79FuHXJKAw)_

Madison, Tara and Sarah walk in, and immediately I can tell something is wrong. There's tension between them.

“Well, that was a waste of time.” Madison declares, as she sits on the couch beside me.

“Didn't find anything?” I ask.

“We got tons of footage, talked to a lot of people too.” Tara says.

“And we didn't get a single straight answer. No one there knows anything.” Madison continues. I rest my head on her shoulder.

“It's okay.” I say softly. She's frustrated, that much is plain to everyone. She's also scared. I don't think the others can see that however. Madison takes a deep breath.

“Thank you Sweetheart.” She whispers.

“I mean, no one helped with Eysenfeld either. We sorted that out.” Tara is still trying to stay positive.

“You're right. Besides, we're used to people not being much use to us.” Madison replies.

“We also have to consider there's a cult out there, that probably wants to mislead us.” Morgan adds.

“Speaking of misleading, the mayor was a real something else huh?” Tara declares, flashing a grin at Madison. She's obviously trying to lighten the mood between them. From the smile on Madison's face, it's working.

“He's definitely hiding something.” She agreed. I look over at Sarah. She seems confused, and a little lost by the exchange so far.

“So you two aren't fighting?” She asks finally.

“No, we're not. I think today just brought up some bad memories.” Madison replies. Tara nods.

“Yeah, tell me about it. So what did you girls find?” She asks, looking between Morgan and I. We share a glance.

“A lot of legends, but nothing concrete.” Morgan says.

“I sorted everything into story piles, so we can visualise what book belongs to what theory.” I announce.

“Oh, nice!” Tara beams at me.

“That's very clever of you sweetheart.” Madison replies.

I smile, basking in the validation of my earlier theory.

“What are the theories?” Sarah asks.

“Why don't we all sit down, and I'll explain them.” I offer. Tara and Sarah shuffle around to sit down, while I stand and take up a spot in plain view of everyone. I go through the piles one by one, explaining all of them.

I give a lot more detail than I did with Morgan, laying out all that I've discovered for certain, and that which I'm unsure about, but think might be true.

There was a surprisingly large amount of information about the cult. One of the journals was from a former leader, who was kind enough to lay out much of the systems surrounding the cult.

“The cult requires a minimum of five members to function, though it can recruit others. The leader of the cult is referred to as the ritual master. There's also three ritual performers, and a sacrificial vessel.” I begin to explain. Everyone recoils a little at the sacrificial part.

“Do they die?” Tara asks. I shake my head.

“No, they just provide a little bit of blood for the rituals they perform.” I reply. Sighs of relief.

“What kind of rituals do they do?” Morgan asks. Unfortunately there were a lot of things in the journal that were just assumed the reader would know. One of those things was why the cults existed.

“I'm afraid I don't know that one. The book about it assumed you knew why you were building the cult. I'm sorry I can't be more help.” I reply.

“Hey, don't worry about it. This is plenty!” Tara says, flashing me her iconic grin and finger guns.

“She's right. This is much more concrete than anything we found.” Madison adds.

“Thank you. I do know that the rituals are meant to be conducted outside the prison though. That was mentioned several times.” I say.

There's a short pause, before finally Sarah speaks up.

“There isn't a prison in Arkrick. We've never needed one.”

“Really? There's no law enforcement?” Madison asks.

“Well, I mean, there's the sheriff. But he just has a small office with a single holding cell. He only ever needs to lock up the occasional drunk. Usually Frederick.” Sarah replies.

“Do you think that's the place?” Tara asks. Sarah shakes her head.

“I've never heard anyone call it a prison.”

The room falls silent. It's clear that no one wants to say the very obvious truth that's hanging in the air around us.

Finally, Madison speaks up.

“There must be something in the woods then.” She says finally.

Her voice is soft, almost reverent.

It's met with silence.

We all know that she's right.

And we all know what it implies.

“Something to keep the White Hunter locked up.” Tara finishes the thought.

“Let's not jump to conclusions. It could be a dungeon that the cult kidnaps people to. Or something. We don't even know when the last time there was an active cult in town was.” Madison begins to backtrack.

I don't blame her. Despite everything we've seen, it's easy to fall back into old habits when confronted with something like this.

I walk across the room, and crouch down in front of her. She looks at me as I take a hand in mine.

“Madison, I think it's out there.” I tell her softly. Her expression softens as we stare into each other's eyes.

“I know. I do too. I just...don't want it to be.” Madison replies softly.

I nod. I understand.

“Hey, uh, this might be a bit late to ask, but there's no records of it attacking people in houses, right?” Tara asks abruptly. Madison's face turns pale, and her eyes go wide. I quickly shake my head.

“No. Nothing like that.” I say quickly. In truth, the records of it's attacks leave me somewhat suspicious. I don't say anything yet, since all I have is a theory. One that we might still be able to prove. If I'm right however, we should be safe. At least from the hunter.

“Oh good. I was gonna get worried there.” Tara laughs it off.

“How about we have dinner?” I suggest. I don't want to be talking about this any more. I just want to spend time with my family.

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

“Dinner sounds good. I'll go start cooking.” Morgan replies.

“I'll help.” Tara jumps to her feet.

“Well, I guess we don't have to worry about the White Hunter getting us any more. Tara's cooking will get the job done first.” Madison jokes. I laugh softly, while Tara laughs it off.

“I've been working on it. I can now make something that looks like food.” She says.

“You still can't eat it.” Morgan adds, as she heads for the kitchen. Madison and I laugh.

“Well, I guess I'll leave you all to it.” Sarah says. I had started to forget she was there with how caught up I was with comforting Madison.

“You don't have to. You're welcome to stay.” Madison tells her. I try not to scowl too hard. I was hoping to drag Madison away to the bedroom early tonight, but now it seems like I'll have to wait.

At least she's not staying the night.

I certainly hope she isn't.

“You sure? I don't want to intrude.” Sarah asks.

“I'm sure. I wanted to go over today's footage again anyway. Maybe you can help.” Madison says. I suppose that makes sense. Sarah will know who everyone on camera is.

“Yeah, alright, that sounds good. Thanks Mads, it means a lot.”

“Don't mention it.” Madison gets up, and heads to the bedroom, returning quickly with her laptop. She moves over to the thus far neglected dining room table, and sets it up there. Then she plugs in her camera, and begins to save the footage.

As soon as the first file is saved, and the second one is started, Madison opens it, and begins to watch it back.

Her eyes sparkle with a passion I'm so rarely treated to. It's obvious Madison loves her craft. In some ways I'm disappointed she did leave Taranormal behind. She doesn't notice it, but her tone gets wistful when she tells me about working on it.

I understand why she quit. I know that she's happy with her studies. I'm sure that whatever she does next she'll have that same passion.

But sometimes I wish she could have it now. That she could have something to be so passionate about to do while she studies. Sometimes I want to tell her to go on whatever crazy journey Tara is off on next, and just...do what she loves.

Ultimately, that's what happened anyway. I'm glad.

The video on screen is of the interview with the mayor. I immediately dislike him. Madison's assessment seems correct to me. If nothing else, he obviously doesn't want us to be digging into things.

We watch a few more tapes back, moving on to the miners next. I'm beginning to see what Madison means about not getting a straight story. One miner claims to have seen the White Hunter. From how he describes it, it could just be a tall man in a fluffy coat.

“It doesn't look anything like that.” I say, when he finishes.

“What does it look like?” Madison asks.

“The consistent themes among things that I don't think are animals are that it has long, spindly legs that shouldn't be able to hold up it's fat, furry body, and a long face with teeth that protrude from it's mouth. It's legs are long enough it can hold itself among the trees, so it just looks like four trees if you're walking through the woods.” I explain as best I can what I've deduced. There was a lot of conflicting descriptions, but most of them highlighted one or two of those features. Especially the legs.

“Thanks, I hate it.” Sarah mutters.

“I almost wish I hadn't come.” Madison agrees. “At least we know this man is making up stories.”

“Or he saw someone in a big shaggy coat.” I tease. Madison takes a second to process what I've said, before laughing softly.

“I hadn't considered that, but now that you mention it.” She replies.

“Alright!” Tara's voice booms across the room, cutting off our conversation.

“You don't have to shout.” Madison tells her.

“But I want to shout. Anyway, that's enough working at the dinner table. We're having fun while we eat dinner, and we can go back to work afterwards.” Tara commands. Madison sighs, and moves her laptop to the couch, to let the files finish backing up.

The three of us settle in at the table, and let a comfortable silence hang. I reach out and hold Madison's hand while we wait. She glances over and smiles at me as I do.

We're only waiting a few minutes before Morgan and Tara come out with plates of food, laying them out for each of us. Once they're also seated, we begin to eat, and chat.

We steer clear of anything that might resemble the task at hand. Sarah asks questions about past Taranormal episodes, and Tara tells stories about them. Occasionally Madison or Morgan offer corrections, but that never phases Tara as she continues to tell grandiose versions of the stories.

I've heard them all enough times before to know the truth of them all.

It's never what Tara says.

The conversation flows towards Madison, and we talk about her studies for a bit. This time I can actually participate a little, and I make sure to boast about her excellent grades whenever she's too humble to do it herself.

Which is always.

Finally it's time for us to learn about Sarah. I'm not surprised to find that she and Morgan have a lot in common. She's not particularly special of a person, all things considered. She works at the only cafe in town, and her hobbies are reading and watching videos online.

It's when she starts talking about life in Arkrick that Morgan starts to really sympathise. Small towns are the same where ever you go, it seems.

We finish eating, and run out of stories to tell Sarah. Even so, we don't stop chatting. An hour passes, with Tara telling us about the most recent episodes she's been filming, bringing up details we didn't know, and Madison talking about what she studied, and what she's thinking of doing. I even tell Tara and Morgan a bit about how my channel is going.

Eventually we run out of things to talk about, and the conversation slowly comes to an end.

_Music:[Cold Comforts](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

“We should get back to work.” Madison says finally. We all know she's right. We just don't want to admit it.

“Alright, fine. What are we doing?” Tara asks.

“I wanted to review today's footage with everyone. See if we missed anything.” Madison replies.

“Sure, sounds good.” Tara agrees. Madison retrieves her laptop, and we all huddle around her to watch the videos. Morgan excuses herself to make coffee for everyone as we get started.

The miners are obviously scared, but they don't have a coherent story between them. They've all seen things that have got them worried, but none of them sound like the White Hunter. Morgan returns in the middle of the second interview, laying out the drinks for everyone.

“It must be hard working in the mountains like that.” I say, as we finish the last one.

“Geez, tell me about it. Can't blame them for being jumpy.” Tara says.

“Regardless of how understandable it is, it doesn't help us any.” Madison replies. We move on to the next video. It's an interview with someone on the street. Abruptly, Sarah reaches out and slams the pause button.

“Sorry. Can this video zoom effectively?” She asks.

“Kind of. Why?” Madison replies. Sarah points at someone in the background.

Madison obliges, and zooms the camera in on him. It's a bit blurry, but you can make out his face.

“Holy shit...” Sarah mutters.

“What is it?” Tara asks. Sarah reaches into her pocket, and fumbles for her phone. Once she's got it, she pulls up an image, and holds it next to the screen.

The picture is obviously the man in the background.

_Music:[Is Something Out There](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=D79FuHXJKAw)_

“That's Joseph, the guy who died.” Sarah says. There's a long pause around the table.

“Holy shit.” Tara agrees.

We all stare at the man on camera. He doesn't look like he's doing particularly well. His face is pale, and haggard. Normally I'd say he was just very sick and tired, but in light of what I've been reading today, I'm not inclined to.

“That's not Joseph. That's the White Hunter.” I say softly.

“It was right there in front of us…and we didn't even interview it!” Tara exclaims, slamming her fist into her palm. She's met with silence.

“We just get told that we might have been in the presence of a creature which murders people and steals their skin. And your first concern is you didn't interview it?” Madison asks.

“Right. I mean, it was in town, I don't think it'd murder us right there.” Tara explains.

“I don't know what else I expected honestly.” Madison sighs. I laugh softly.

It's nice that we can make light of the situation, even when it's like this.

“He looks kinda droopy though. What's up with that?” Tara asks.

“From what we read it can only hold onto a form for so long. As it loses it, the person starts looking sick, and then like they're melting.” Morgan explains.

“Gross. Hopefully we don't have to see it in it's melting form.”

“Hopefully we don't have to see it up close period.” Madison says.

“But how are we going to solve the mystery if we never see it?”

“Safely. I've had enough risking my life for two lifetimes.”

“Me too.” I say. Tara sighs dramatically.

“Fine! We'll be safe!” She's trying to sound upset, but she can't manage it. Instead she just sounds silly.

I smile at the two of them. These days, even when they fight, they aren't really fighting. I think Eysenfeld changed them for the better in that way. I can only imagine how terrible it must've been for them, thinking they'd lost their best friend forever, and knowing the last time they'd interacted they'd been angry at each other.

“Well. It's dark out, so I should get heading home.” Sarah announces.

She sounds nervous.

I can't blame her.

Not after what we just discovered.

We all bid our awkward farewells, and wish Sarah safe travels, before she heads off.

Once she's gone, I clear my throat, to get everyone's attention.

“I um...I think I might have a lead we could investigate.” I announce.

Tara's face immediately lights up, while Madison looks a little concerned.

“Really? What is it?” Tara demands.

“I think Joseph might've been a member of the cult.” I reply.

**Tara**

I sit on my bed and huff. Well, it's half my bed at least. Technically it's Morgan's bed too. Abby's lead is so cool. It makes perfect sense of Joseph, or whatever his name was, to be a cult member. He was a delivery man. The perfect cover for delivering secret cult messages!

So naturally, as soon as we have something like this, Mads decides it's time for bed.

I guess I get it. She needs time to deal with it. She's probably a bit freaked. I know I am right now.

After Eysenfeld I thought I was ready for more supernatural shit. I kept hoping I'd find it again. But now that I'm here, looking at a creepy cult and a shapeshifting monster...I'm starting to think I got a bit ahead of myself.

“Are you doing okay?” Morgan asks, as she comes in with cups of coffee. Despite what Mads said, we're staying up to do a little more reading.

“Yeah! Just thinking how we're gonna crack this thing wide open tomorrow!” I reply, grinning at Morgan. She smiles back in her usual, subdued way.

“So what do you have planned?” She asks. I can tell from the tone she expects me to say nothing. The jokes on her though.

“I was thinking we could get into Joseph's house, and have a look around for any evidence of him being part of a cult.” I explain. Morgan pauses, and checks to see if I'm serious.

When she does, she sighs.

“Are you sure breaking and entering on your second day of investigation is a good idea?” She asks. I flash her the goofiest grin I can manage.

“Nope! But it's the best lead we've got. And it's one of the few things I can really do, y'know?” Morgan looks at me with a hint of sadness.

“There's loads more you can do babe. You did fine with all the journals and reading when we were dealing with Evelyn together.” Morgan insists. I cock an eyebrow at her sceptically and she hesitates. “Well, you did okay. Besides, you could interview more people instead.”

“Nah, I feel like we need a better idea of what we're looking for, ya know? Right now I'm just stabbing blindly at our leads, and it probably shows.” Morgan chews her lip slowly.

“In that case, I'll come with you.” She replies.

“Wait, really?”

“Of course. I'm sure Maddie won't want to be dragged into it. And Abby will probably appreciate the time to be alone with her again.”

“Alright, it's a date.”

“This is why we don't go on dates any more.” We laugh, and turn our attention to the books, reading a bit more about the cult. Most of it goes over my head.

Eventually, we start to get tired, and settle in for the night.

I pass out almost instantly.

\--*--

_Music:[Episode One](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

I wake up bright and early the next day.

By my standards at least.

Which means I'm the last one out into the main room, where breakfast is being cooked.

“Morning!” I call out, and am greeted with a chorus in return.

“So, what's the plan today?” Mads asks.

Oh shit.

I'd kind of hoped that Morgan would say something while I was asleep. The worst part is the excited twinkle in Mads' eye.

She was definitely looking forward to this.

“Well uh...I was thinking Morgan and I could pop into town...and you and Abby could do some more reading.”

Mads' face instantly drops.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asks, clearly confused.

“No! No, no way. I just uh...” I try and think of a lie. Nothing comes to mind. “I...was gonna see if I could snoop around Joseph's house, and I didn't wanna drag you along on that.”

“In that case, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. We can keep filming tomorrow.” Mads replies. I can tell she's still a little hurt, but she gets it.

I can't blame her. She was there for all my other breaking and entering attempts.

Well, except for the one three episodes back, but she doesn't know about that one yet.

Unless she watched the episode.

I push the thought aside. It's not important right now. There's something far more important in front of me.

Breakfast.

We all start eating, only the occasional word to interrupt us. It's never anything important. Once we're done, we all exchange our goodbyes for the day, and Morgan and I head for the car. We've left the good camera equipment behind, but we still take a hand held along.

After the nightmare that was trying to sort out filming for ourselves in Eysenfeld, I decided I wanted a camera that I could use. It has the added benefit of letting us get really personal shots that look way less staged than the usual stuff Mads records.

Admittedly, most of it's unusable, but we've gotten a few good minutes out of it, and the reception has always been positive, so I'm glad we picked it up. It's perfect for things like this, where we're not exactly supposed to be where we're going, but we need to get the footage to prove what we find.

Morgan and I hop into the car, and immediately turn the heat on. It's colder today than it has been before, and there's dark clouds brewing in the distance.

“Hang on, give me a minute.” I say as I hop back out, and run to the door. I poke my head inside.

“Did you forget something?” Mads asks as she sees me.

“Nope. Just wanted to say it looks like a storm is coming. So, y'know, please don't leave the house if you see me wandering into the storm. I'm definitely going to be staying in town if it gets bad.” I say.

Mads looks annoyed for a second, before she smiles.

I'm glad she gets it.

“I won't, thank you.”

“Alright, don't have too much fun without me.” I wink, and step back out before Mads or Abby can respond, and jog back to the car.

“Are we good?” Morgan asks. I nod.

“We're good. Let's go.”

**Maddie**

_Music:[Communion](ommunion)_

It's touching that Tara is worried about me.

When I first hear her words, I'm afraid she's making fun of me, but the look on her face makes it clear. She's genuinely concerned about losing me again.

It's sweet of her, but ultimately a pointless fear.

I wouldn't take any risks like that with Abigail by my side. When I first had chased Tara into the snow, despite everything we'd been through recently, she was the most important person to me. And while nothing has changed in how much I value her, that's just no longer true. There's someone more important now. And I would do anything to stay with her.

“Shall we begin reading?” Abigail asks. I nod.

“We shall.” I reply. Abigail giggles, and I smile.

“Would you like some help on where to start?” She offers. I nod.

“Yes please. It might be a good idea for you to give me a book you trust, so I can catch up with you.” I say. Abigail nods, and picks up a book to pass to me.

“This one is the most true I think. I haven't read it thoroughly though.” She tells me.

“Thank you darling. I'll see what I find.” I open the book, while Abigail gets up, and stokes what remains of the fire. She throws a few more logs in, and soon it's crackling away, warming us up once more.

With her task complete, Abigail picks up a book, and sits beside me, leaning her head on my shoulder, and together we begin to read.

At first, Abigail's presence is distracting, and the book seems impenetrably dull, but soon it picks up, and I find myself lost in it's words.

The book is from a reformed cult member, detailing her path into the cult, and ultimately why she changed her mind. Her sister was the leader, and coaxed her in to act as the sacrificial vessel. She also describes herself as being a scout, someone tasked with locating the ritual site.

Her journey into the cult isn't particularly interesting, and much of it is pointless detail that I feel would have been relevant in her lifetime, but isn't any more.

It picks up drastically as she talks about finding the ritual site. Her writing is superb, as I can envision the place from her words alone. A large, stone building in a small clearing in the woods. The trees around it have been stripped bare of their branches, and spikes have been hammered into their trunks to prevent them ever growing back.

The wind is unsettlingly cold in this clearing, as she approaches the building. It's a large, circular structure, with no apparent purpose. A stairway leads up it's side, and she climbs to the top, to see the building is hollow. Around the top is a walkway, with four platforms to stand upon. Between them all hangs a cage, and below, a giant metal grate, which has been torn to shreds.

Looking inside, the walls are covered in scratch marks, and filled with blood and bones. The smell of death permeates the air around it, and she knows she's found the place.

I look up from the book, and take a deep breath. I sincerely hope that this place isn't real. But the conviction with which this book is written tells me it is. And worse still, I suspect we will have to find it. If nothing else, it proves that there's something here, or if we can't find it, we can safely say this might all be a myth.

I look to Abigail beside me, she turns as she feels me shift, and smiles.

“Is everything okay Madison?”

“Yes, everything's fine. I just needed to take a break. Some of the descriptions are...rather unpleasant.” I reply.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you to read anything like that.”

“It's okay, it's useful information. And we can't shy away from this, just in case it is real.” We might be the only one's here who can do something, after all. I'm not sure what, but I wasn't sure what we were going to do last time, and we found a way. I'm sure this time will be no different.

I return to reading, but I'm barely a sentence in before Abigail gently nudges me. I look at her, and see she's staring out the window. I follow her gaze, and see that snow has begun to gently fall outside.

“Would you like to go stand on the porch for a few minutes?” I ask.

“Can we?” Abigail asks.

“Of course.” I stand up, and head for the door, Abigail following behind me. Outside it's cold, but not unbearably so.

I've been in much worse.

A grim smile crosses my face. That was dark.

I turn to look at Abigail, who's positively beaming at the snow.

“This is the first snow you've had since you left Eysenfeld.” I realise aloud.

“That's right. It's...nice to be able to stand in it again. It reminds me of home a little.” Abigail says.

“In a good way, I hope.” I tease.

“In the best way.” Abigail sighs happily. “Thank you Madison, for coming outside with me.”

“It's nothing special. We're just standing outside.” I reply.

“It's special to me. So thank you.”

“Anything for you darling.”

“Every time I hear you say that, I wonder if you really mean anything. But you've never once given me a reason to think you don't.” I smile at Abigail's words, but don't say anything. I feel like anything I could say here would only cheapen her joy. I don't want that.

We stand outside for about half an hour, before the wind picks up, and with it the snow. The cold cuts into my clothes, and chills my core. Abigail seems to be feeling it too, as she turns for the door, and I follow her in. We move over to the fire, and huddle in front of it.

It's nice. Comfortable. Perfect. But as we stare at the fire, my mind begins to turn over what I've read, and it sinks in.

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)_

I think Abigail might be right. The ritual site sounds like it could only be one thing.

A prison.

And there's only one thing that such a prison would be needed for.

If it is a prison for the White Hunter, that would explain why it would hunt down cult members exclusively. If it can keep membership below five, then they couldn't ever re-imprison it. But this raises another question.

Who is the good guy here?

What would the White Hunter do without the cult around? Would it just eat villagers instead?

Are the cult actually the ones protecting the village from the Hunter? Or is it the other way around? And how could we ever know? There aren't any first hand accounts from the Hunter itself after all. And we can't just ask it.

I assume we can't just ask it at least. It is capable of appearing like people and stealing their voices after all. Maybe we can.

I don't relish the thought of trying to talk with something that could eat me however. Though I suppose if it did, that would answer most of our questions very quickly. I would die satisfied with the mystery, for what it would be worth.

“Are you okay?” Abigail asks suddenly.

“Yes darling. I'm just thinking about the book again.” I say. We pause for a minute, before I speak again. “I think you might be right.”

“Really? You do?”

“I do. The book describes what I can only assume is a prison for the White Hunter. I think they might be enemies. Though I'm not sure which side is in the right yet.”

“I'm sure you'll work it out. Have you reached the end of the book yet?”

“No, not yet. I suppose that might have my answer, mightn't it?”

The book is about a girl who left the cult after all. If anyone would be able to prove that they were evil, it would be her. I sigh, and climb to my feet.

“I should get back to reading.” I announce. Abigail sighs sadly.

“We should, shouldn't we?” From her tone, it's clear she had other plans. I hesitate.

“Well, a few more minutes in front of the fire couldn't hurt.” I concede, as I settle back into my spot. I'll welcome any distraction right now, though this one is usually my favourite.

**Tara**

The wind has started to pick up since we got into Arkrick, and the snow is starting to join it. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a full-on storm soon. Though I'm sure she didn't need it, I'm glad I said something to Mads.

She's a smart girl. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice. But still, I worry sometimes.

Right now, I'm more worried about Morgan and I.

“Are you sure you've got this?” Morgan asks for the third time.

“Yup. Just gotta twist a little more...” I reply. I've been trying to get the lock to Joseph's house open for about ten minutes now. It's not co-operating.

Despite Morgan's concern, I'm confident I can do it. And this time there shouldn't be any creepy burning trap on it.

Sure enough, I twist a little more, and the lock comes open. I stumble forward a little as the door swings open, and crash onto the ground. Morgan comes rushing in after me, before coming to a dead stop.

Oh shit.

I look up, to see what's alarmed her.

There's no one here, thankfully. Just an incredibly messy house.

Messy because it's obviously been searched.

“Guess we weren't the first ones with this idea...” I remark, trying to play off how concerned I am. “Who do you reckon it was? The Hunter? The cult? Just the police?”

“Definitely not the police.” Morgan replies.

“Yeah, that'd be boring huh?” I climb to my feet, and start snooping around. Disregarding the mess, the house isn't anything special. There's a sofa and a coffee table which has been flipped in the main room, and a small desk that's clearly been ransacked. I have a look through the drawers on the desk, but there's nothing too interesting. Spare cables and the like.

“Let's have a look in the bedroom or something?” Morgan suggests.

“Sounds good to me. That's where I'd keep my super secret cult documents.” I say, firing finger guns at her. Morgan smiles, and rolls her eyes.

Still got it.

“You keep everything in your bedroom. It's why you lose so many things.” She shoots back.

“You got me.”

We make our way through the house quickly. It's small, and the furniture is sparse and utilitarian.

The bedroom is just as much of a mess, if not more. Clothes are strewn across the floor, where they've clearly been ripped from the chest of drawers to search for any hidden contents. Looking a bit closer however, something starts to seem odd.

“It's like they only searched half the room.” I say.

“Maybe they found what they were looking for.” Morgan suggests.

“Hope not. That'd mean it's not here for us to find.”

“I'm not sure we'd recognise it even if we did.”

“Yeah, that's true. Though, if they stopped like this, I reckon it was the Hunter.”

“Why?”

“Remember what Sarah said about the warm tea when they came here? He was probably taking his time going through stuff, but when he realised they were coming he panicked, and tore the place up to find it.”

“Don't you think Sarah would have mentioned the house being tossed?”

“Damn, you're right. This is why you're the brains huh?” I flash her a smile.

“And what are you?”

“The charm, duh.”

“Well you're definitely charming.” Morgan flirts, giving me a small, mischievous smile.

“Alright, let's focus on getting the job done. We've got a car we can head back to after this. We might not even get the chance to go anywhere in it for a bit with this storm.”

“Of course. If it gets worse we should call Maddie.”

“We will. Let's search first.” We split up, and begin combing through the room. We start with what's been thrown on the ground, not really looking for anything in particular, just taking stock of what's here. It's mostly clothes. From there I move on to the drawers, while Morgan checks the desk.

All I turn up is more clothes, but Morgan finds a stack of papers, and I join her in going through them. There's nothing much of interest in them unfortunately. It's just bills, bank statements, all that boring stuff.

I skim some of the bank statements, looking for anything suspect, but there's nothing. No weird payments in or out. Guess that makes sense, why would the cult be paying him? Assuming he was a member.

I'm sure he was though. We haven't found proof yet, but I know we will. It makes too much sense for us to not.

After half an hour, we've swept the entire room. We haven't found anything. Morgan is heading for the door, when I spot something. A door on the far side of the room. It obviously leads into a closet, but for some reason it was untouched in the prior search.

It's inconspicuous enough that at first I missed it.

That makes it extra suspicious to me.

“Hey Morgan, hold up.” I say.

“What is it?”

“What's in there?” I nod to the closet. Morgan follows my gaze, and nods.

“Probably nothing. Let's go.” She replies. Despite her words, she's moving towards it. She looks very serious, and I realise what she's thinking.

What if there's someone in there? We don't want them ready when we open the doors.

I follow her lead, and we creep over to the doors. Then, as suddenly as we can, we throw them open.

Someone is standing at the far end of the closet.

I shout in surprise.

They don't respond.

That's because they are actually just a large hooded robe, hanging at the far end.

“Oh Jesus, that scared me.” I say, laughing.

“I could tell.” Morgan replies.

I look a bit closer at the robe. It's bright red, and very ornate. I take a step forward, and reach out. It feels comfortable, though I can't place the material. Probably not silk at least. I'd know what that feels like. Whatever it is, it's old.

If I had to pick a word for the vibe it gives, I'd go with traditional.

Or creepy.

Probably creepy actually, followed by traditional.

“So uh, I think this is pretty conclusive that he's part of the cult right?”

“I think that's a safe bet, yes.” Morgan replies. She walks in to join me, and reaches out, picking up the robe. As she moves it aside, she reveals a map hanging on the wall behind it.

It's a map of Arkrick, and the surrounding area, with a lot of places marked. Most of them are marked with names. Large swathes of the map have been highlighted with lines, as if denoting them as bad.

On the edge of one such area is a big X. Next to it is a single word.

Prison.

“What do you think that's about?” I ask.

_Music:[No Escape](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=0i_YrcZuDlg&p=n)_

“No clue.” Morgan replies. I'm about to speak again, when I hear the wind outside howl. Morgan and I exchange a glance.

“Think we should bail?” I ask. Morgan takes a few steps out of the closet, and looks out a window.

“Yup.” She replies. I don't need to be told twice. I pull my phone out, and snap a picture of the map, before dashing for the door. Morgan is a step ahead of me.

Thankfully the door can be locked while open, so it'll close locked, and we don't need a key for it.

I throw the door open, and the wind buffets into the house, bringing heavy snow with it.

Morgan throws herself out the door, and into the snow. She has to fight to make progress towards the car, but she's doing well.

I step out, and the wind cuts to the bone immediately. I pull the door as hard as I can, but the wind has other ideas.

It's a struggle that feels like it lasts forever, but I know it's barely 10 seconds.

I get the door closed, and it clicks locked.

I turn, to see Morgan at the car, the door open as she waits for me.

I drop my head, and raise an arm to shield against the wind as I wade forward.

The snow is already building up around my feet, making it hard to move.

I'm scared.

I suddenly realise how bad it must've been for Mads.

And she'd walked out into worse than this for me.

I promise myself to give her the biggest hug I can when I get back.

Then I'm at the car.

I fall inside, and slam the door shut behind me.

_Music:[Into Another World](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=_Hg6mrtinLE&p=n)_

Just like that, it's over. Well, not entirely. We're still in a car that's potentially going to be snowed in, but we're not in the cold wind. Morgan turns the car on, and sets the heat as high as it goes.

It works. I'm already starting to feel better.

Looking out the window, it's surreal.

It's all white, as the storm rages around us. But in here, I feel safe. It's as if I'm staring at another world outside the car.

“Do you want to cuddle in the back seat?” Morgan asks.

“Please.” I reply. Body warmth is exactly the comfort I need right now. Morgan climbs into the back, and I follow, snuggling up against her. Once we're comfortable, I pull out my phone. I've still got 1 bar of service.

I open a text message to Mads, and quickly type something out.

“Hey Mads. You're not gonna believe what we found! Can't waste time typing it out yet. Storm hit us. We're waiting it out in the car. Be safe please. Talk more once it's passed. If we can't make it back tonight we'll try and crash at Sarah's.”

I hit send, and sigh with relief once it goes through. Not a moment too soon too, as less than a minute later, the final bar of service disappears in the storm.

“Guess all we can do now is wait.” I say.

“Guess so.” Morgan agrees.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! So sorry to everyone for this taking so long. Life uh...happened. A lot. And in the chaos I had to put something to the side for a bit, and unfortunately Deeper into the Woods was that thing. But now that my other fic is on hiatus I'm trying to find more time for this one, so it WILL get finished. This chapter came out a bit shorter than I wanted, but as I closed in on the end I realized anything more I added would just be padding. Sorry if the story is a bit more...erratic. I had to do a lot of going back and re-reading to make sure things held together, and so the logical flow of events is a bit fuzzy. I'll be doing a full re-read tomorrow before I get back to work on this, so hopefully any weirdness is a one-off.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy, and sorry once more for the wait!
> 
> P.S. Since the looper site I use is playing up and not always working with the songs anymore I'm just linking to the official copy on youtube. If you need it to loop you can right click the video to have that option. I did not know about this feature at first.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

As I hear the wind whip up around the cabin, I'm glad that Tara messaged me.

When the text first arrived, the snow was only just starting to get heavier, and I thought she might be exaggerating.

Now that it's a full-on blizzard outside however, I'm glad to know where she is.

Meanwhile, Abigail and I still haven't left the fireplace.

She has her head resting on my shoulder, and somewhere in our post-sex snuggling, she passed out. I don't hold it against her. It's so cosy right here that I could drift off myself.

Unfortunately, I know that we need to get to grips with what's going on.

Especially if Tara has found something important.

I reach around to the table, doing my best not to disturb Abigail, and pick up a book. I'm not sure which it is. I don't think it matters. Anything relevant is worth reading right now.

I flip the book open, and begin reading.

It's hardly as interesting as the last one, and much of it is dry and unrelated, so I begin skim-reading, hunting for what matters. Ultimately, I don't find much of anything. There's some mention of an unusual cult in town, and animal attacks, but it doesn't dwell on them, and I soon put the book aside in resignation that it's a waste of time.

As I do so, Abigail stirs.

“Good morning sweetheart.” I tease. Abigail smiles at me sleepily.

“I don't think it's morning anymore.” She replies. I smile.

“Tara messaged me while you were asleep. They storm's gotten much worse, and they're stuck in their car right now.” I tell her.

“Yes, I can hear how bad it is.” She says. A thought suddenly occurs to me, and I wonder why it never came to mind before.

“What did you do when there were storms back in your forest? Did you just stay out in them?”

“Usually I went back to the grove, or the church. The heavy snow made it hard to see, and all the animals were taking shelter anyway.” Abigail explains. I nod.

“That makes sense I suppose.”

“What were you doing while I slept?”

“Reading one of the books. It wasn't worth much though.” I pick up the book and show it to Abigail. She giggles.

“I could have told you that. It was in the useless pile.”

“I just grabbed whatever I could reach. It's too cold to move out of these blankets to grab anything further away. And you looked too peaceful.”

“In that case, we should stay here forever.” Abigail teases. I laugh softly.

“Tempting, but we should get dressed. We don't know when the others will get back.” Abigail pouts at me, but she gets out from the blankets with me, and we quickly pull our clothes back on.

Once we're dressed, I go to make coffee, while Abigail picks out more books for us to go through. I return to find her settled on the couch, a small pile of books to either side. I place our coffee down, and sit beside her.

Together, we start to read.

And read.

And read.

I don't know how long it's been. I don't care. This is perfection. I'm sitting beside the love of my life, in front of a fire with a cup of coffee and an interesting book while a blizzard howls outside.

_Music:[No Escape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i_YrcZuDlg&t=)_

And then the blizzard stops.

It takes me a second to process that the sound is just...gone.

One second the wind screams. The next, silence.

The only sound I can hear is the crackling of fire.

“Maddie...” Abigail says softly. I look over at her.

She's pale, and staring at the fireplace in fear. I follow her eyes. The fire's burned down to nothing but embers by now.

Yet I still hear crackling.

Loud crackling, for that matter.

I jump to my feet.

This is bad.

This is very bad.

The cabin's on fire.

“We have to get out of here.” I say. There's no time to grab anything. I don't know where the fire is, but I'm certain it's malicious. And given our past encounters with Evelynn, I'm confident it could spread suddenly.

Abigail gets to her feet quickly as well, and we hurry for the front door.

On our way we pass the front window, and I come to a dead stop.

I was wrong. The cabin isn't on fire.

Outside the house, standing out in the snow are four figures wearing bright red robes.

In front of them sits a wooden pyre. It's built to look like people.

Five people, to be exact.

Four stand in the front, wearing clothes clearly meant to suggest that they're us. Behind them stands the fifth with a large deer skull atop it.

They're all burning.

The message is abundantly clear.

We are going to die if we stay.

As I stare in horror at the sight before me, the storm once again begins to pick up. The four robed figures step back, into the white void of the storm, and vanish. All that's left is the grizzly display, burning on the front yard.

Abigail and I stand, watching it burn, for what feels like an eternity. Finally, it collapses in on itself, and the fire burns out. As it does, the storm returns, and once again the cabin is buffeted by the winds.

It doesn't feel cosy any more.

**Morgan**

_Music:[Not What We Had Hoped For](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw9nNVWq0Kw)_

The temperature in the car is surreally warm. The wind howls outside, and the snow is beating against the car in a display as ferocious as any I'd seen back home. The cold creeps in through the seams in the windows and doors, and I can feel it trying to invade.

It doesn't work however. The heaters are blasting out hot air faster than the cold can creep in, and beside me Tara is warm and comforting.

She has her head resting on my shoulder, and her eyes are closed. Her breathing is shallow, but I'm familiar enough with her habits to know she's just sleeping.

I don't blame her.

After that scare with the storm, she probably had an overload of adrenaline. Now that the danger's passed, it's only natural that she'd crash.

I'm not so lucky.

Mostly because I'm not convinced the danger has passed.

I can't explain it. I can't prove it. I just know this storm isn't natural. It came in too suddenly, and too conveniently. If we'd been a little less nosey, or it had come a minute earlier, we'd have missed a major clue in solving what's going on here.

I assume, at least.

Perhaps the map is nothing, and we just wasted our time.

But my gut says that's not the case.

We found something big.

And I'm sure something was trying to stop us. Something supernatural. I can't yet say if it's the cult, or the Hunter. But one of them is behind this storm, I just know it.

And so, despite the fact I'm warm and safe, I can't calm down. I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched. So I sit, and stare at the snow.

And stare.

And stare.

Finally, after an hour, the storm starts to subside. It's gone as quick as it came, bellowing past us one minute, and completely silent the next.

It only serves as further proof of my theory. I shuffle out from under Tara, and climb into the front seat to see if we can drive.

To my surprise, we can.

It's slow going, as there's a bunch of snow that we need to push through to get started, but with a little patience I get the car moving again.

“Huh? Is something going on?” Tara asks from the back seat.

“The storm's passed, and it seems like we can drive, so I'm taking us home.” I reply.

“Really? Weird.” I pause, feeling a chill creep under my skin at Tara's words, despite the warmth of the car.

“What's weird?”

“I just figured we'd be snowed in after all that, y'know? The snow was coming down pretty fast when we first were moving through that.” Tara explains.

She's right. The snow should be deeper. Unless most of the storm was largely impotent. If it was just heavy winds and cold mist it could look like a snow storm without actually snowing.

The perfect cover for something trying to move about without being seen.

“Let's talk about it with Maddie and Abigail when we get back.” I suggest. “Do you have any service yet?

“Nope! I'll let you know when I do!” Tara calls back. I nod, and start driving, trying to push down the anxiety growing in my stomach.

I love Tara dearly. Helping her make Taranormal is more than I'd ever dreamt of having in life. But right this second, I regret coming here with her.

This is so out of our league. It was, ultimately, luck that led us to beating Evelyn. Denying that would be foolish.

Admittedly, we learnt a lot, and if we were dealing with something similar, I might say we could handle it.

But this is nothing like what we did in Eysenfeld.

We talk like it is.

We talk like we're experts.

But we're not.

We're just as hopeless in the face of this problem as we were in the face of the last one.

All I can do is hope that we don't mess it up.

The drive back to the cabin is slow. The snow makes going fast a dangerous prospect, and so I take my time. No one else is on the streets anyway, so there's no harm in being extra cautious.

When we get back to the cabin, it's immediately apparent something is wrong.

Five piles of ash sit in the yard, each one lightly covered in snow. Further evidence for my theory of the storm being mostly cold mist after the initial hit.

Tara and I walk inside, and find Maddie and Abigail looking traumatised, for lack of a better word. Immediately Tara springs across the room, and throws her arms around Maddie, hugging her tight.

While they embrace, I quickly slip over to Abigail, and give her a hug too. She looks like she needs it.

“What happened?” I ask softly.

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](https://youtu.be/EHutKZ5fYT0)_

“The cult showed up.” Maddie replies. “They...had pyres built to look like us, which they burnt.”

I take a second to process this information.

“Us? Like...the four of us and Sarah?” I ask, trying to guess the fifth pyre. Maddie shakes her head.

“The fifth one had a deer skull on it.” She says. I'm not sure what to make of that. So I say nothing. No one does. We just stand around hugging each other.

“Y'know Mads. I don't appreciate you stealing my life endangering thunder.” Tara finally speaks up.

“I'm sorry. Would you like me to pretend I didn't get threatened by a cult?” Maddie asks.

“For like, two minutes. If you'd be so kind.”

“I can do that.” Maddie says. I watch as Tara hugs her tighter.

“Thank you. Thank you for trying to find me when you Evelynn was tricking you. I love you so much Mads, you're my best friend.” Tara starts to babble.

“You're welcome.” Maddie replies softly, stroking Tara's hair.

“I was so scared Mads. I wasn't even in the storm for a minute, and I was so scared. I'm so sorry you went out into something worse than that.”

“It's okay. I love you too. It's what best friends are for.” I smile, and look over at Abigail. She's smiling too.

The conversation is interrupted by the phone ringing. I walk over to the table beside the fireplace and pick it up.

_Music:[White Walls and Half-Timber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)_

“Hello?”

“Oh my god, Morgan! Are you guys alright? Were you all safe from the storm?” Sarah's voice asks on the other end.

“We're all okay. We...had some small scares, but no one's hurt.” I tell her.

“What kind of scares? No one walked out into that right?”

“Well...Tara and I ran through it for a second, but we're fine. But no, the cult showed up to threaten Maddie and Abigail.” I explain.

“There were four of them!” Abigail calls out helpfully.

“Four of them huh? When was this?” Sarah replies.

“When did this happen?” I ask Abigail.

“Maybe...half an hour after you texted us?” She says. I nod.

“Half an hour after the storm hit Arkrick. Why?” I ask. I can practically hear the grin in Sarah's voice.

“Because most of the town, including yours truly, was huddled up in the bar for the storm.” She says. It takes a second for what she says to click.

“...We have a suspects list!” I exclaim.

“We do?” Tara asks.

“That's right! I'll pull what I can together and get up there tomorrow. You all just chill for today okay? Recover from...whatever that was.”

“Can do. Thank you.” Sarah hangs up, and I put the phone down.

“Babe?” Tara says.

I look over at her. Her eyes have gone wide, and she's practically bouncing on the spot with excitement.

I can't help but smile. She's the cutest.

“Yes?” I ask.

Tara frowns slightly. I'm not exactly being subtle in playing dumb.

“Are you going to tell us about this suspects list you mentioned?” Tara asks.

“I suppose I could.” I reply.

There's a pause. Tara looks at me expectantly for a moment. Behind her Maddie and Abigail are smiling, and trying to hold back laughter.

Finally it dawns on Tara that I'm not about to start talking.

“Babe...” She says.

I consider continuing to be mean. I decide against it. She's clearly hit her limit for how much teasing she can take right now.

“Alright. That was Sarah, obviously. She said most of the town was taking shelter from the storm together.” I begin to explain. Both Maddie and Tara start nodding.

I can tell from the looks on their faces only one of them gets it.

  
“So how does that relate to our suspects?” Tara asks.

“Anyone seen at the bar couldn't be a member of the cult.” Maddie replies.

“Right. See, this is why I asked you to come Mads. You're the real brains of the operation.”

“I think anyone could have worked that one out.”

“No way!”

“You heard me come to the same conclusion on the phone.” I interject.

“Okay, good point. But still.” Tara says. The conversation falls silent, as we all run out of things to say.

Having a suspects list coming is great news, of course. But it also gives us one glaring question. What do we do right now? Can we even do anything productive?

_Music:[Not What We Had Hoped For](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw9nNVWq0Kw)_

The quiet between us all hangs in the air for longer than is comfortable. Our momentary victory reveals itself to be just that, momentary.

And in it's place the stark truth sinks in once more.

We don't know what to do.

Tara clears her throat.

“So uh, Mads. Did you want to...y'know...talk about what happened? We kind of got cut off.” Tara offers.

I can't help but scoff internally at it. Something about the situation seems so wrong.

To my surprise however, Maddie nods.

“I think so.” She says.

Silence.

Outside, the wind howls past the cabin again, threatening to begin a storm anew.

Finally, Maddie starts speaking again.

“I'm not too sure what to say. It feels so surreal now. Like it didn't really happen. It's like the first time we saw the Forest Spirit. But, at the same time not.”

“It felt...actually dangerous.” Abigail joins in. Maddie nods.

“Right. At least with the Spirit, I felt like it didn't plan to hurt us. If we got hurt it was just...because we were in the way. But this felt like a threat.”

There's another long silence.

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

“Do you want to go home?” Tara asks finally.

I look at her in surprise. From the corner of my eye I can see Abigail and Maddie have done the same.

“What?” Maddie asks.

“I asked if you want to go home.” Tara repeats.

Maddie gives her a blank stare.

“Not just you I mean. Like, all of us. Give up on this and just go home. Tell Sarah we're sorry but we're not the people she needs.” Tara continues.

“What? No. Are you okay? This isn't really like you.” Maddie says.

Tara shrugs.

“I'm just...trying not to be selfish about things this time, y'know? I don't want you getting hurt again because of me.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I'm happy to do this. I mean, we're the best equipped to help her, right?” Maddie asks.

I try not to let my doubts show.

“Besides, despite everything that went wrong last time, we all came back alive, and as a new family. Maybe we'll even find another ghost out there to add to our family.” Maddie says.

“She can sleep on the couch if we do.” Abigail declares.

She moves over to snuggle up to Maddie.

“I'm not sharing you with anyone. Especially not another ghost.”

Tara and Maddie both laugh softly at this.

“Of course sweetheart.” Maddie replies softly.

“So, now what?” Tara asks.

“I brought a lot of films we could watch.” Maddie suggests.

“So long as it's not 2001, I'm down.” Tara says.

“I learnt my lesson on trying to make you watch that years ago. How about you help me pick something out?” Maddie replies.

Maddie gets up, and the two of them head for the bedrooms. I look over at Abigail. She's looking after them, smiling. I'm glad that everyone can relax like this. It's a good sign. Maybe I'm over-blowing my concerns. Maybe everything will be fine.

But as I hear the wind howl again outside, I just can't completely push the anxious feeling in my stomach away.

**Abigail**

_Music:[Communion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I4lTCPaEJs)_

I remember being confused to first time Tara made me watch cartoons. I don't remember which one she started me with, but it was funny. I laughed a lot.

But some things didn't make much sense to me. Light bulbs over people's heads when they had ideas was one of them.

Looking at Morgan tonight however, I finally get it. I can almost see the cogs turning above her head.

There's clearly something on her mind. Even Tara can see it, if the concerned glances that her and Madison share are any indication.

Neither of them say anything. Neither do I. I'm sure there's a reason they're not talking about it, and I don't want to be the one to trample all over things.

Instead we spend the night trying to relax, and watch Madison's films. It's hard. There's a lot of tension in the air, despite our best efforts.

In between the films there's a few attempts to begin conversation, but nothing sticks. Not even Tara bringing up Madison's last attempt at karaoke can draw out a conversation that lasts more than four sentences.

I smile at the memory even when the conversation dies. When she said her singing voice was the only thing that couldn't be fixed, I had always assumed it was hyperbole.

That night showed me that it wasn't.

I don't mind. She sings just beautifully for me when we're alone.

The evening ends up passing relatively quickly.

Or at least, everyone chooses to go to bed relatively early.

Outside the snow has started picking up. Once Madison and I settle into bed she shuffles towards me, and hugs me tight.

I hug her back, and begin to stroke her hair slowly.

I know she was terrified earlier today. I feel like I should be too, but I'm not.

I suppose death just hasn't really sunk in as a possibility yet.

Though I imagine also Madison isn't used to sights like that. It's not exactly common practice these days. It wasn't 200 years ago either, but it wouldn't be nearly as out of place.

And well...even though Madison and I have both died before, I'm the only one who's truly been murdered.

It blunts a lot of fears, I've discovered.

In my arms, Madison starts to cry softly.

“It's okay.” I run my fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her. It seems to work, as over the course of a minute Madison calms down.

“I'm sorry. You went through the same thing today. I shouldn't be being selfish like this.” Madison whispers.

“It's okay. I'm glad that I can be here for you.” Madison looks up at me. Her eyes are puffy and bloodshot, but she manages to smile a little.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. You've done more for me than I could possibly repay.” I tell her. I can see the doubt in Madison's eyes. It's always there when I say this. I used to be a little upset, but I've come to understand. I don't think she can truly fathom how much giving me this new life means. Some days, I can't either.

“I wonder if I did the right thing saying we should stay.” Madison shuffles out of the hug a little, and lies on her back. She's still very close thankfully, so I roll on my back to join her, and press against her side. Out of the corner of my eye I see her smile.

“I think so. I don't think you could stand not knowing.”

“I hate that you're right.”

“Are you sure you don't want to go back to Taranormal?”

“Yes. Not knowing what's really out there hurts, but having to watch another person lie to my face about how haunted their hotel is hurts more.” Madison laughs as she says this, and I can't help but smile.

“You're right. I'm sure they'll call you every time they find something.”

“If they find something again. Meeting you was lucky. We get tons of emails, and any one of them could have taken Tara's fancy. And this one was...I don't imagine we'll get another email like this any time soon.”

“I hope not. I've grown quite fond of our life together.”

“Just the two of us?” Madison asks. I nod.

“Just the two of us. But also all four of us. I like being part of this family. I love being yours.”

“I love you sweetheart.”

“I love you too.”

“We should sleep.” Madison rolls over to face me again. I look over at her and nod.

“We should.” I shuffle a little to get comfortable near her, and close my eyes.

\--*--

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

I wake up the next morning to find that the snow has almost entirely stopped. The wind is quiet, and there's nothing but the sounds of people in the main room getting the day started.

The smell of bacon cooking wafts into the room, and I climb out of bed. Madison is already up, and by the sounds of things so is Tara. I glance over at the clock on our bedside table. It's only 9.

I quickly pull my clothes on, and shuffle out to join everyone.

It's immediately apparent that people are in better spirits. The tension that hung in the air last night is gone, and everyone seems to be happy.

I'm sure the bacon plays a part in that, but I think the biggest thing is Tara's uncontainable excitement. She's practically bouncing off the walls.

“Good morning sweetheart.” Madison calls to me as I walk out.

“Good morning. I'm sorry if I overslept.”

“It's cool. I get it. I'd have slept longer if I could.” Tara replies.

“You make it sound like someone woke you.” Morgan chides her from the kitchen.

“Tara was the first one up today. It seems she's too excited about getting a suspects list to sleep.” Madison explains as I walk over.

“Right! But I wish I could y'know? Since that way I wouldn't have to wait. I could just sleep until she gets here.”

“You'd need to eat breakfast first though.” Morgan points out.

“Okay sleep until she almost gets here.”

“We don't know when she's coming.” Madison cuts off that dream too.

“Fine, fine. I guess this is the best I could do.” Tara declares. I can't help but smile at how well our family fits together. There's a minute of silence before Morgan starts serving breakfast. As soon as she's got her plate and is settled at the table Tara starts talking again.

“So who do we reckon is gonna be on the list? The mayor for sure right? He gave off serious creep vibes.”

“I think so too, but only because I imagine he was stuck in his office, not the bar.” Madison says.

“So his assistant is on in it too then. Makes sense. We've got two cult members, who else? I'm thinking it might be Elvis as the cult leader.”

“You always say that.”

“That way whenever it is Elvis, I'll be right.”

“So the mayor, his assistant and Elvis are all part of your cult. Who's the last member?” Madison asks. Tara thinks for a moment.

“Sarah, of course. We'd never see it coming.”

“You don't actually know anyone else in the village do you?”

“I don't need to, obviously. We've got our cult right here.”

“Uh huh. And how exactly do we break the news to our host that we've found all the members and she's one of them.” Madison smiles as Tara pauses, lost for words.

“Okay good point. I guess we'll just have to see who she brings us.”

“You should eat before she gets here.”

“Alright, alright, I'm eating.” Tara grumbles, as she begins to shovel food into her mouth. I go to do the same. Listening to Tara gush about what's to come, I've started to get a little excited as well.

_Music:[White Walls and Half-Timber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)_

Thankfully none of us have to wait long. We barely get time to finish eating before I hear the sound of Sarah's car pulling up outside the cabin. A moment later she's letting herself in.

Immediately the atmosphere changes. Before it was jovial, with most of us entertaining Tara's excitement, but not sharing it too much. Now however, the excitement reverberates through the house.

We're minutes away from getting an update on the investigation. Even Madison is showing how eager she is to find out, despite her best efforts to hide it.

“Morning! Ready to get started?” Sarah calls out.

“Yes!” Tara shouts. She bounds across the room and crashes into the couch in front of Sarah.

“Give me a minute. Do you want some coffee?” Morgan offers. Sarah raises the Thermos in her hand.

“I'm fine thank you.” She replies. It's only now I notice she's wearing more layers than normal. She even had skiing goggles on when she came in. I glance out the window. It's snowing very gently, tiny snowflakes falling and dancing on the wind. I can't imagine it's pleasant to walk in, even if it looks beautiful.

I settle down on the couch with Madison while we wait for Morgan to finish. It's not too long before she comes out and sits beside Tara.

“We good?” Sarah asks. Morgan nods in response. Sarah glances around for a second to see if anyone else will protest.

No one does.

“Alright, let's get started. All up we've got seventeen suspects. I'll start with the big ones, and work my way down. Which means first off there's Mayor Wagner and Ada.” Sarah begins. She reaches into her bag and pulls out two photos.

They look like the ones I see in the films Madison shows me, but never actually see in real life.

“There are really photos like this?” I ask, as I reach out to pick one up. It's a bad picture of Ada as she's walking into a building.

“They're called polaroids, and they're not too common. Though I am curious why you have a photo like this.” Madison interjects.

“I uh...was doing a bit of investigating before you arrived. I ended up taking a lot of pictures like this...y'know, just in case.” Sarah explains sheepishly.

“I like it. Very aesthetic.” Tara sounds out the final word as she picks up another picture.

“Of course you do.”

“Also, told you that they were in on it.”

“We don't know for sure that they are. They're just suspects. Sarah can we move on to the next people?”

“Sure thing. Next up we've got a couple of the hermits that live around here. A bunch of them rang in to warn about the storm, so we're sure they were home, but three of them didn't check in.” Sarah explains, laying out more pictures.

These pictures are actually labelled, and we all lean forward to inspect. There's three older people in them, two men and a woman, labelled as Alban Schnell, Sigi Schmidt and Gretel Unkle. Alban looks to only be in his 50s, Gretel in her 60s, if I had to guess, and Sigi looks like he's older than the tree spirit.

There's also pictures of each of their houses. They look a lot like this cabin. They're definitely built in the same style, though the layout is clearly different between theirs and ours. If not for the decorations outside, I might've thought they were the same house.

“I doubt any of them have the mobility to get through the storm like they did.” Madison remarks.

“Maybe they used magic to make themselves stronger.” Tara suggests. I can almost hear the retort escape from Madison before she catches herself. Despite everything that happened, she still sometimes falls into old sceptical habits.

It's one of the things I love about her. The way that Eysenfeld didn't completely break her. Sometimes it's easy to forget everything we've been through when I listen to her adamantly insist that magic isn't real when one of her classmates is talking about magicians. From the look on her face and sincerity in her voice, it's clear she's forgotten about it in the moment too.

It's also fun to tease her about it once we're alone again.

“I'll concede perhaps Alban could be a viable suspect. I think we can safely rule the other two out however.” Madison decrees. Morgan reaches out and starts sorting the pictures into piles, while Sarah pulls out her next set.

“Next up we have William Rohmer and his wife, Constanze.”

“The author you mentioned earlier?”

“That's right. He's pretty reclusive, so it's not uncommon for him to not be at the bar, but we can't be sure, y'know?”

“He's gotta be part of it. Famous author comes to a small town like this and doesn't join the old cult? No way. He's the ring leader for sure.” Tara declares.

“You didn't say this last time you heard about him.”

“Last time everyone was a suspect Mads! Now there's like, ten innocent people in this list tops. There's no way he's not part of it.”

“Of course. Can we keep moving on? I would like the complete picture before we make too many wild guesses.”

“Can do. Next we've got Menno Ziegler, the local mechanic, and Emily Stoppelbein, the butcher.”

“That's the guy who gave us the car right?” Tara asks.

“Yeah, that's him.”

“Man I really hope he's not part of it. It'd suck to be driving a car from someone we're meant to be finding. Like...what if he did something to it?”

“Of course he did something to it, he's a mechanic.” Madison teases.

“I mean like, something bad Mads. Geez.”

“Can you tell us anything about Emily?” Madison asks.

“She should've been at her shop, so it's not weird that she wouldn't be at the bar. Her wife was a bit worried because she wasn't picking up the phone though.” Sarah replies.

“That's definitely a bit suspicious.” Madison agrees.

“Woah, even Mads is saying someone's suspicious.”

“Of course I am! I saw that there's actual cult members here, and they have to be in this group, don't they?”

“Well...yeah, but just. I'm still not used to the not sceptical Mads.”

“I'm still plenty sceptical thank you very much. I just have concrete evidence this time.”

“Okay, moving on. We've got two miners who weren't part of the strike, Werner Switzer and Gotthard Gwerder.”

“If they weren't on strike they'd be up in the mine right?” Tara asks.

“That's right, why?”

“Well if it's just the two of them, they could say they're not on strike and working, and then just leave to go do their cult stuff while everyone's busy protesting.”

“That's...a surprisingly good idea.” Madison remarks.

“I have those sometimes yeah.”

“And last but not least Leon Schnell and Vera Lorentz, the local lumberjack-carpenter, and our librarian.” Sarah declares as she places the last two pictures down.

“This place has a library?”

“A small one, but yes. It's mostly old books, but everyone donates a bit to help Vera go stock up in town once a year.”

“Neat.”

**Maddie**

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](https://youtu.be/EHutKZ5fYT0)_

We all stare at the pictures in front of us. There's thirteen all up.

Four of them are members of the cult.

Four of them came to our cabin, and threatened both me and Abigail.

I don't want to believe it.

I don't want to think that we have to find them.

It's easy to say we've investigating the cult without hard leads. It's easy to say we'll get them when we don't really know who they might be.

But now we do.

Now there's real people that we're looking at with suspicion.

Four of the faces in front of me are guilty.

Worse than that however, nine of them are innocent.

And right now, we can't afford to assume that it's any of them.

It's not fair.

I hate what we're going to have to do.

“So, now what?” Tara asks. I sigh. I'd hoped she would take the lead here. It's not unreasonable for her not to of course. She's just as lost as any of us, I'm sure.

“I suppose we should begin making a plan to investigate.” I suggest.

“Yeah...” Tara agrees. More awkward silence.

“We should also look into the map we found in Joseph's house.” Morgan speaks up. I look over at her slowly. It dawns on me we never even spoke about what we each found. The arrival of the cult, and then the suspects list took up all of our attention.

“What map?” I ask.

“Oh yeah, we found a super spooky closet at Joseph's house. It had a map on the wall with a lot of areas crossed out, and then a spot was labelled Prison.” Tara explains. I take a deep breath and sigh.

I cannot believe her right now.

We'd talked about a prison earlier.

All of my reading about the cult had brought up how important it was.

And Tara goes ahead and finds it on a map.

And then she just…

Doesn't.

Tell.

Me.

I sigh again.

“I was reading about a prison for the White Hunter that the cult uses yesterday.” I announce.

“No way! You think it's the prison on the map? Why didn't you tell us?” Tara asks.

“Obviously. And why didn't you tell me about the map?”

“I...forgot.” Tara admits. She drops her head, and her disappointment in herself just radiates into the room. She looks like a dog that's just been told she's not a good girl. I can't stay mad at her.

“What else did you find?” I ask.

“An ornate red robe.” Morgan answers.

“The cult members we saw were wearing red robes too.” I reply.

“So Joseph was definitely part of the cult!” Tara declares. I nod slowly, thinking. The robe being in his house is surprisingly useful information. It tells us that...

“...we have a way to confirm if people are cult members.” I finish the thought outloud.

“We do?”

“If Joseph kept his robe at home, the others must do the same. If you can find a robe in someone's house, then we know they're part of the cult.” I explain.

“So what, we break into everyone's house?” Tara asks. I think she's joking, but it's hard to be sure sometimes. I should probably treat it seriously just to be safe.

“No. I think you just do a little snooping while you question them. See if you can get people to let you in to talk about the town and the show, and go from there. If you can prove they were busy at the time that the cult was here then you won't have to bother.”

“Got it. What are you going to do?” Tara asks. Clearly she caught the implication of how I phrased it as instructions. I take a deep breath and sigh. I hate myself for what I'm about to suggest.

“I think Abigail and I should investigate the prison.” I declare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also since you're here now why not leave a comment? It makes my day, and you'll probably feel better about yourself too! And why shouldn't you? You're great.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically I finished this chapter last night, but I was too tired to mess about with the colours and the links and everything, and then today I just sort of forgot until now. So uh, sorry about the wait on that one. Also sorry it's a bit on the short side. I just keep hitting great moments to end on quicker than I'd like.

** Tara **

_Music:[Episode One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

“I don't like it!” I say for what feels like the hundredth time.

Beside me, Morgan just sighs.

“I know babe, but we can't forbid Maddie from going for a walk.” She replies.

“We could tie her and Abigail up, throw them in the bedroom.” I suggest.

“I get the feeling that might be sending the wrong message.” Morgan teases. I snort softly.

We've spent more than a few nights speculating about Mads' and Abby's sex life. As of the last trip, we've convinced ourselves there's a least a little bondage going on, though I can't remember what evidence we used to declare that.

“Fine. But still. What if something happens, y'know?”

“Maddie's been caught out once before. I'm sure she'll be extra paranoid. You saw her going over the map right? She was looking for the path with the most places to hunker down if need be.” Morgan reassures me.

I sigh.

“You're right. She'll be fine. Everything's fine.” I put on my biggest smile, and look over at Morgan again.

She keeps her eyes focused on the road ahead of us.

That's probably for the best actually.

I look out the front window of the car as well, and take in the sight of Arkrick. It's not much of a sight, but it's very atmospheric. Arguably more so than Eysenfeld was, since the people here don't regard us with nearly as much suspicion.

It doesn't take much longer for us to pull up outside of William Rohmer's house.

It's a large building, three stories tall with several doors on the outside of the house. It dwarfs the houses beside it. It's clear that it's owned by someone who's got money from outside of town, with how extravagant it is.

I hop out of the car, and Morgan follows me. We take a second to get the camera out, before heading over to the door and knocking loudly.

There's a pause. Then it opens.

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

We're met with an older man, clearly in his 40s, with messy blonde hair, glasses and a massive grin on his face. He takes a second to look at us, and the grin somehow gets even bigger.

“Hello! You must be Tara and Maddie! I've been looking forward to meeting you!” He exclaims. I do my best to match his grin.

“Close! I'm Tara, but this is Morgan. You must be William Rohmer?” I ask.

“The very same. I heard from Robert that you might want to come and chat, and I was so excited. Come in, come in.” William replies, stepping back from the doorway.

I exchange a quick glance with Morgan, as we assess if this is really a good idea. It's not like we have much choice though. So we step inside.

Inside the house is spacious. The room doesn't have a second or third floor over it, and instead the ceiling just stretches up into the distance over the living room. At the far end of the room is a fireplace. Above the wall behind it I can see the second floor begins with a balcony looking down. There doesn't appear to be a third floor at all however, just a very high ceiling.

William leads us across the room, and he settles onto one couch, gesturing for us to sit on the other.

“I understand you're filming a show. I assume you'd like to interview me, but I would appreciate being able to chat first.” He says once he's sat.

“That's right. But we don't mind a bit of socialising first.” I reply.

“Wonderful, thank you. Though I'm sure you'd like a record in case I let slip something important. Feel free to start filming.”

“Thank you.” Morgan says. She starts setting up the camera. William waits until she's done, and started recording.

“So, what's this show you're filming? Robert said something about ghost stories, but he didn't tell me any details.”

“Oh, sure thing. We're filming an episode of my show, Taranormal.” I begin. William chuckles at the name.

“Clever, did you come up with that?”

“No, that was Mads. But it's a show about paranormal activity. So a lot of it is going to check out haunted places, or other cryptid sightings, and seeing if we can find anything. We also sometimes do videos explaining folklore, or conspiracies, that sort of thing.” I explain.

“Those episodes usually come about when no interesting leads crop up.” Morgan adds. William nods along excitedly.

“And I suppose you're here because of the White Hunter?” William asks. I nod.

“That's right! We've been doing some reading on it to make sure we know what we're looking at, but now we're going around interviewing people to see if they might have anything worth knowing about it. Then maybe we'll see if we can find some of it on tape.” I explain.

“That's very bold. I don't think I could possibly attempt something like that.” William replies. He opens his mouth to speak again, but a voice from deeper in the house cuts him off.

“Darling, what's going on out there? You're so loud!” A woman calls. Her voice comes closer as she speaks, and just as she finishes complaining she steps out from a hallway into the main room.

“Oh, we have guests I see. You must be Tara and Morgan, we've been looking forward to meeting you for so long!” The woman says.

“It's nice to meet you too miss...”

“Constanze Rohmer. I'm William's wife.” I nod along. That's convenient, we've got two cult suspects in the same room. If there was every a time to strike, it'd be now.

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)_

“Well, while I've got you both here, do you mind answering a few quick questions for me?” I ask.

“We'd be happy to, wouldn't we?” William replies. Constanze nods.

“Of course, what is it?”

“So, we think the storm yesterday might have had something to do with the White Hunter. Where were you during it?” I ask.

“Are you suggesting we have some relation to the White Hunter?” William asks. He sounds amused. I shake my head quickly.

“No, we just want to see where the eyes were, in case it was moving around. See if anyone saw anything, and if not, we'll know where it wasn't.” I lie. Maddie had lined that one up for me before we left. Thank god she did, I'd have just laughed awkwardly otherwise.

“I see, very clever. Well, I was at home, on the phone to Alban at the time. We stayed on the line for most of the storm just to make sure he was safe. So I'm afraid I didn't see anything, and neither did he. Or he's a very good liar.” William answers. He laughs at his own joke, and I join in to be polite.

“I was at home cooking dinner, and reading William's newest draft.” Constanze replies.

“Is that why dinner was a bit overcooked last night?” William asks. Constanze laughs softly.

“You're such a charmer, as always. You can just admit it was burnt. Your writing is too good, I lost track of time, and let the roast stay in too long.” She replies. I smile.

“Awesome, thanks. Have either of you seen anything unusual going on around here lately?” I ask.

The couple exchange a look, before turning back to me and shaking their heads.

“Not really, I'm afraid. Outside of Joseph's death of course, but you must know about that already.” William replies.

“Pardon me, I was only popping in to see what was going on, and I should really excuse myself. Though, I am curious, if you don't mind. I was under the impression Maddie was your camerawoman. Where is she today? I was looking forward to meeting her.” Constanze says.

“Oh, she's gone to film some B-Roll in the woods.” I half-lie. Obviously we don't want anyone in the cult knowing she's looking for the prison. But we also don't want to say she's at home to a member of the cult, and tip them off that's something's up. And so far, William's story doesn't hold up. Not until we can be sure there was a phone call.

“I see. Well, please do bring her by sometime. She seems lovely from the little bit of Taranormal I watched yesterday.”

“I will!” I reply. Constanze smiles.

“Until then, enjoy your time here.” She replies, as she heads off.

“Thank you!” I call.

“So, what else would you like to know?” William asks, drawing me back to the interview. I clear my throat. Serious business time. I pick up the mic from the pile of stuff we brought in, and get it ready.

“Alright, let's start the interview properly. Would you mind introducing yourself for our viewers?” I ask, before holding the microphone out.

William's clearly a pro at this. As soon as I say we're starting his demeanour shifts ever so slightly. His pose on the couch becomes more relaxed, while his eyes get much more alert. It gives off the impression of a man who's very confident, and quietly brilliant. Which is presumably the point.

“Certainly Tara. I'm William Rohmer, author of several books, but most notably The Crooked House.”

“You'll have to forgive me here, I'm not much of a reader. What kind of book is The Crooked House? And are the rest of your books similar?”

“It's...well, my publisher likes to call it a psychological thriller, but when I started I was setting out to just write horror.” William says, laughing softly. I can tell it's a rehearsed sentiment, but he makes it sound so natural. “Horror is my favourite genre to write in, so most of my books are similar, yes.”

“Well, I was going to ask why you chose Arkrick, but I suppose with all the spooky stories, it's a good fit.” I prompt. It's not a real question, but I'm confident he'll pick up the thread all the same.

“Yes. Actually it took me a while to settle on Arkrick. After my success I knew I wanted to move somewhere quiet and simple, but with a sinister edge in it's history. I ended up looking into a lot of small towns around the country before I found Arkrick.” William answers.

“Was Eysenfeld ever on your list?” Morgan asks from behind the camera. William pauses for a second, clearly thinking, before finally he nods.

“Yes. It was. I remember thinking the train ride to get there was a little too inconvenient for what I wanted, so it was low on my list. Though, you did an episode there, didn't you?”

“Sort of. It's a special episode, since we lost a lot of the footage of the cool stuff we found.” I explain. William sighs.

“If only I'd been a little more patient, I could have found somewhere that truly met what I was looking for.” He muses.

“I'm not sure it would've been a place you'd want to be.” Morgan says. She's almost her usual monotone, but I can detect a slight edge in there.

“Of course, you're right. I talk about wanting to live somewhere with a sinister past, but I wouldn't want to actually live it. The suffering of my character's is close enough for me.”

“So if you picked Arkrick for it's history, you must know a fair bit about the White Hunter, right?” I ask.

“As much as anyone, I'd say. From what I could gather, it's either a protector, or destroyer of the town of Arkrick. There's always a human antagonist against it, seeking to trap the White Hunter. In the stories of the White Hunter being a protector, the human seeks to harm Arkrick, and the Hunter aims to devour them, and leave the town in peace. When it's the destroyer, the human instead seeks to trap it to keep everyone safe from it's animalistic ways. In either case, the Hunter only appears to strike against those who know of it, and are involved with it's machinations.” William explains.

“Which do you think is true?”

“I'm not rightly sure. It's fascinating however, because no individual human is ever portrayed as both a hero and a villain. Every story that talks about particular people opposing it is consistent in what it claims about them.”

“Why do you think that's so fascinating?” I prompt. I try and make it seem like I'm asking for the audience, but in truth I don't get it myself.

“Well, if you were writing about the White Hunter and it's past, and you were recounting all the people who opposed it, wouldn't you write whichever interpretation suited you best? Shouldn't there be conflicting accounts from people who see the Hunter differently? But that's not the case. The same authors will call one human a hero, and another a villain, seemingly at random.”

I nod along, trying to process what this could all mean. I glance over at Morgan. She seems to get it.

“So you think there's some truth to them? That the Hunter is both of those things?” She asks. William smiles and nods.

“I believe so. Assuming of course the Hunter is real. I've never seen it myself, so I won't be so bold as to declare it factual.”

“Changing subject a little bit. Before the interview we talked about the freak storm that came through here yesterday. Are storms like that common in Arkrick?” As awesome as the lead is, I don't want to dig too deeply into it. William might still be part of the cult after all, and I don't want to make him think we're too interested in it.

“Storms? Certainly. Though ones like that aren't too frequent.” William says. He pauses a moment, before continuing. “They have been more common in the last month however.”

“Do you think that might have any links to all the rumours about the White Hunter?”

William smiles at me as I finish the question. His eyes sparkle for a moment, heavy with smug intent.

“Who could say?” He asks.

A chill runs down my spine.

He could say. That's what he's trying to communicate right here.

This son of a bitch is part of the cult.

He's practically announcing it to us right now. I'm trying to think of something else to say to carry on the interview, but a sound outside cuts me off.

The sound of the wind picking up.

“Oh, it looks like another storm is coming. If you don't want to be trapped here, you'd best get going.” William says.

“We will, thank you.” Morgan speaks up for me, as she starts to put the camera away. I get up.

“Yeah. Thanks for your time, that was real cool.” I say.

“I hope that your friends are okay. You said they were out in the woods right? I hope they don't get caught in the storm.” It sounds like there's genuine concern in William's voice. All I can hear is mockery however.

We told him they were out there, and now this storm is coming.

It's absolutely his fault.

Mads might die again.

And it's his fault.

I want to lunge out.

I want to hit him.

To scream, and shout, and plead for him to stop the storm.

I glance at Morgan.

She can see what I'm thinking, and gives me a firm shake of her head.

I follow her request.

She's thinking clearer than me right now after all.

So we quietly excuse ourselves, and return to the car as the wind starts to pick up.

Once we're in, Morgan starts driving us back to the cabin.

I pick up my phone and text Mads.

“Please be safe.”

** Maddie **

_Music:[Wooden Hearts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyn-Tot9hOw)_

Walking through the forest with Abigail is a surreal experience. In so many ways it's like we're back in Eysenfeld.

Like we're dead again.

If not for the cold on my face, and the trudging of our boots in the snow below us, I might think we were.

It's not a bad experience, by any means.

In some ways it makes me nostalgic.

Nostalgic for being dead.

That's not something I ever thought I'd feel.

But there was a certain peace in those days that I've never found since.

I wouldn't want it back, of course. Not when it cost so much.

But a taste of it is nice.

Also like back in Eysenfeld, I'm completely dependent on Abigail to get me around.

Thankfully, the map to the prison had many landmarks listed on it. With them, and a compass, Abigail seems confident in making her way through the forest.

“I thought you only knew your way around one set of woods.” I tease as we pause at a landmark, and Abigail consults her phone to check which way to go next.

“So did I. I suppose all that time wandering, was more useful than I thought.” Abigail replies.

“I feel just as lost as back in Eysenfeld.” I admit.

“You don't seem nearly as lost.” Abigail replies.

“Well I guess my short time as an outdoors-woman worked out for me.”

“Oh, no, I just meant you still have a body.” Abigail teases. “You still look just as confused by all the trees.”

I can't help but laugh.

“This is nice.” I say.

“It is. Thank you for letting me come with you.”

“Of course sweetheart. Why wouldn't I?”

“I suppose I'm just used to you worrying about me.” Abigail says. She pauses, and then gives me her signature sly look. “Though I guess you might've just been worried about leaving me in a house alone.”

“No comment.”

This time it's Abigail who laughs. I hope it's clear that I didn't mean it.

“I think I know which way we're going now. Shall we?” Abigail asks.

“Lead the way.” I reply.

Abigail sets off ahead of me, trudging through the snow.

I follow close behind, capitalizing on the trail she's making.

Lazy snowflakes fall from the sky, dancing on the gentle wind as we make our way deeper into the woods.

It's a calming, familiar sight. The trees are also familiar, in a way. Though none are quite the same as Eysenfeld, they're definitely the same type of tree. Same species? I'm not sure what to call trees. Same family, I'm sure is a valid description.

With so much familiarity, I half expect to come out into a clearing I recognize. Or hear a swarm of fairies come flying past. Maybe even have a small deer emerge to be greeted by Abigail.

Obviously, none of those things happen.

I'm very glad for there being no fairies at least.

We reach a clearing, and Abigail stops again.

I stop behind her, and for a second we wait.

“We met in a clearing like this.” Abigail says.

I look around.

She's right. I hadn't noticed at first, but it's about the same size as the clearing we first met.

“You nearly scared me to death.” I reply.

“A shame I didn't finish the job. We could have met a few days sooner.”

“Somehow I feel that would have been far less ideal.”

“How so?” Abigail spins on her heels to look at me, that same coy look on her face.

“I'm not sure Tara would've been nearly as motivated if I just died of shock. And even if she was, and everything worked out, I think I'd die again from embarrassment with how much she'd tease me.”

“Hm, yes. I suppose that would be a problem.” Abigail concedes. She takes a step forward, and leans up to kiss me. It's a soft kiss, that only lasts a second, but my heart sings all the same.

We kiss often. Most of them don't make me nearly this happy.

But standing here. Talking about how it all began. I'm reminded how lucky I am to have her. How much…

“I love you.” I say.

“I love you too Madison.” Abigail breathes in response. She steps forward, into my space, and we embrace.

We stay like this for a minute. Maybe more. I'm not sure. It's too nice to pay much attention something as trivial as time.

Then we're apart again.

“We should keep moving.” Abigail declares.

“We should. I'm sure Tara's already started interviewing people.”

“The poor townsfolk.”

“Indeed. We'd best hurry to save them.”

We both laugh at how silly we are as Abigail checks the compass once more. Then she's off, walking through the trees once more.

I follow behind her, simply admiring this wonderful girl.

She's the best thing that ever happened to me.

She was worth dying for.

I know I'd die for her again if I had to.

If it meant she could keep going, I'd happily die again.

I'm sure she'd say the same thing about me.

It's a rather self-defeating idea.

I wouldn't want to live without her.

I'm sure she feels the same way.

We come into a clearing, and once again Abigail pauses.

“I think we're almost there.” She announces.

“Good. I'm starting to get a bit tired of just seeing trees.”

“And here I thought you'd just be staring at me in front of you.” Abigail gives me yet another sly look, and I'm sad we're not ghosts again. The ability to simply ignore the cold certainly had it's benefits.

“It's the only thing that's kept me sane.” Abigail laughs softly, and we smile at each other once more. This is just...so nice.

“Wait. Do you hear that?” Abigail asks, frowning. I listen for a moment. The wind picks up as I do, and for a second it drowns out anything else.

Then I hear it. The distant sound of an engine.

_Music:[Daggersmile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UY0t0GamA)_

We turn to stare in the direction of the sound. There's no point running. If it's the cult, they likely know where we're headed. Running away from our destination would simply get us lost in the woods.

The sound draws nearer, and gets a little more refined. The engine sounds small, like a motorbike more than a car.

Then we see it through the trees. A single snowmobile, carrying two robed figures. It's definitely the cult.

Abigail and I simply stand there, waiting to see what they'll do.

What else can we do right now?

Abigail takes my hand, and gives it a firm squeeze. I squeeze back as the snowmobile comes into the clearing, and pulls to a stop.

The figure on the front, the one who was driving, leans forward, covering their face with their hood.

The one on the back however, climbs off, and walks towards us.

This close, I can see that it's a woman beneath the robes.

To my surprise, she throws back her hood.

Her face is immediately familiar. It takes a second, but I manage to place it. Vera Lorentz, the librarian. She smiles at us.

“Madison and Abigail, right?” She greets us. I nod.

“That's right. What do you want?”

“I'm Vera. I'm on your side. You're here to investigate the White Hunter, right?”

“Yeah. We're doing a documentary on it.” I reply. It's stupid, acting like they didn't threaten us. But if they think we might not have seen their flaming display, that might be why we're just talking right now.

“I see. And you're not looking into the alleged cult that is related to it?” Vera asks.

“It'll come up probably. We haven't found enough material to say for sure what angle we're going to run with yet. Why do you ask?” Vera takes a deep breath, and sighs.

“Look. Let's not fuck about, yeah? We know you're here because of Sarah and her wild goose chase. We know you've found some information about the White Hunter, and we know you're not going to listen to our warnings to stay out of it.”

So much for bluffing.

“They weren't exactly polite warnings.”

“That wasn't my idea. It's traditional. Point is, I don't think you've got the full story here. Maybe we're all on the same side here. And if that's the case, why don't you help us out?”

I look at Abigail. She looks sceptical. I'm sceptical.

“I get the feeling we don't exactly see eye-to-eye on these things.” I reply cautiously. “So, we'll just be on our way, and you can head back to town.”

“Where are you going?”

“To film some B-roll around the woods.” I spit out the lie we agreed upon with Tara.

“Where's your camera?” Vera asks.

Oh fuck. I try and think of something to say.

Nothing comes to mind.

Vera sighs loudly.

“I was hoping it wouldn't come to this.” She mutters.

She reaches behind her back, and pulls out a small, ceremonial looking dagger.

It's so banal in comparison to the horrific things I faced in Eysenfeld. And yet, I know how powerless I am to stop it. And so the sight of Vera advancing on me is just as terrifying.

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAxGszmySU)_

My eyes are so fixed on Vera, for a second I don't see it.

The thing moving behind her.

Abigail squeezes my hand. I glance over at her, and see her gaze fixed past Vera. I turn to follow it.

It leads to a large, grotesque hand descending from the trees behind Vera. Behind the snowmobile. It looks vaguely human, but warped out of shape, and impossibly large. The arm connected to it is long, and spindly, covered in thick white fur.

It gently touches the ground, and I see the snow under it crunch as it grips the earth.

A second hand follows it, closer to the snowmobile. With it comes a head, descending from the trees.

It looks like a deer's skull at first, with glowing red orbs in place of eyes. As it moves however I can make out fur, and flesh on the underside of it's jaw, and small sections of exposed muscle along the bone.

The body follows. It's small, in comparison to the long limbs, and seems inappropriate for the creature that's come so far. It's even furrier than the arms, with a somewhat fuzzy look to it.

I'm taken back to the night in the church.

To when I first saw the tree spirit.

I know I'm witnessing something similar here.

Something ancient and primal.

Something humans weren't meant to see.

I'm so fixated on the creature, that I don't realise that Vera isn't advancing on us any more.

It's only when I hear the engine of the snowmobile revving that I realise she's gone. I look down at the snowmobile, and see Vera is back on it, and the driver is trying to flee.

The creature watches them for a second, before bounding off after them.

The White Hunter, I correct myself.

It moves strangely. It's rear legs are much shorter, and it bounds along in a way that reminds me of a chimp.

I drop to my knees, and let out a deep breath I didn't realise I was holding.

For a minute Abigail and I just remain in stunned silence.

“It's real.” Abigail says finally.

“Yeah...” I reply. What else can I say?

Tara's gonna be furious she missed this.

“Hey. The wind's picking up.” Abigail says after another minute. Her words snap me out of the trance. She's right. It's picking up quickly.

Another storm is coming.

_Music:[No Escape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i_YrcZuDlg)_

“Can we make it to the prison you think?”

“I hope so.” Abigail pulls out the compass, and quickly find the right direction.

We set off quickly.

We're walking directly into the wind.

There's no way this is a coincidence.

The cult struck in a storm last time.

Someone in the cult can clearly make storms. It's the only explanation.

And since stabbing us out here didn't work out, they plan to kill us with the cold.

I don't want to die out here again.

I can't die in another storm.

I won't.

The snow starts piling up around us, and every step gets harder and harder to take.

Ahead of me I see Abigail trip, and fall into the snow.

I push on, and come up next to her.

I try and pull her up.

She's cold.

She smiles at me.

It's the saddest smile I've ever seen her give me.

“I'm sorry.” She mouths.

“No. No, we have to keep going. We can't give up here.” I insist.

I know it's no use.

I know how futile it is.

I still try and pull her to her feet.

Instead I'm knocked to the ground.

I don't think I can get back up.

The cold is seeping into every inch of me.

All I can manage is to shuffle a little closer to Abigail.

To lie so I can see her face.

Distantly I can hear drums over the wind.

Why are there drums?

If I hadn't died before, I'd think it might be normal.

Maybe it is.

Maybe the last time was wrong somehow.

The drums get louder.

And then they stop.

So does the wind.

There's just silence, as I stare into Abigail's face.

Silence, and warmth.

_Music:[A Thousand Years or More](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZooyIV2lOZI)_

The warmth seeps into my body, driving out the cold.

Even the snow beneath me feels warm now.

Abigail looks like she's doing better too. She looks confused.

I'm confused too.

The world beyond is just white.

I shift a little to look around.

My face is tickled by something as it passes.

It's tickled by a lot of somethings.

Then it clicks.

The world is fur. We're surrounded by white fur. I look at Abigail.

From the big grin on her face, she's clearly come to the same conclusion I have.

“It saved us.” She breathes.

“It did.” I reply, smiling.

“I'm sorry.” Abigail says.

“What are you sorry for sweetheart?”

“Giving up. Thinking I was going to die. Not trying to keep my promise.”

“Your promise?”

“To grow old together.” I reach out, and take her hand.

“That's okay. I'm happy with whatever time I can have with you. Every minute with you is worth a lifetime without.” Abigail giggles, and blushes.

“That's so cheesy.”

“It's true though.”

“I know. I love you Madison.”

“I love you Abigail.”

Abigail wraps her fingers around mine, and closes her eyes. I do the same. It's so warm, and comfortable here, I can't help but doze off. I just hope that the White Hunter doesn't decide to leave before it's safe. It's not like we can do anything if it does.

And if it does leave, I'd be happy with this as my final moment. Falling asleep beside Abigail, her hand in mine. What more could I ask for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments etc. appreciated as always.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a little bit to come out! I powered out the first half really quickly, but then the second half slowed down a bit as my primary project got a bit more tricky and I had to do stuff on it. But I finally got around to finishing it up, so here we go, enjoy! I'd say something more but uh...I forgot what happens at the beginning! Great job me.
> 
> Comments etc. appreciated as always

**Abigail**

_Music:_ [ _Snowy Days_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcoB96zkDg0&t=)

I wake up to wet beneath me, and Madison lying opposite me.

Above us the sun shines down, bringing a little warmth to the cold that surrounds us.

I sit up, and look back at the ground. The snow around us has melted, leaving a puddle of wet dirt beneath. It covers the area we were in, and a little more.

About the size of the White Hunter.

I'm not sure what to make of it. It saved us, that much is undeniable. But the cult is out to trap it, and they were trying to kill us. It might've just been trying to stop them achieving what they wanted.

I don't want to be afraid of it. I don't want to doubt it. Most of my existence has been spent surrounded by the supernatural. By things like it. But seeing it in the flesh, something is apparent to me.

It lacks the warmth and kindness of the tree spirit.

And that scares me.

My thoughts are interrupted as Madison stirs.

“Gross.” She mutters as she sits up. The side of her clothes and face are damp. I imagine I look just as bad.

“It's okay. We can have a shower once we're done out here.” I suggest. Madison smiles.

“That sounds nice. How long were we asleep?”

“I'm not sure. It can't be that long, can it?” I look up at the sky. The sun's not even all the way up. Madison pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks it.

“I don't know what time we...yeah. But it's only eleven thirty. And Tara texted me.”

“What did she say?”

“Please be okay.”

“That's sweet. Do you think the storm was coming through then?”

“Probably. Though...I guess that means we were asleep for an hour, since that's when this was sent.”

“That sounds about right.” We fall into silence, as Madison types a response. Once she's done, she climbs to her feet, and pats the dust off her jacket. I do the same.

“So, now what do we do?” Madison asks finally.

“We could go and see the prison.” I suggest.

“I guess we should. It just seems a bit pointless after all this.”

“We might still find something interesting. Besides, you don't want to hear Tara cry about how we didn't complete our mission do you?”

“That would be the worst, you're right.” Madison sighs. She's trying to sound put upon, but the smile on her face betrays her.

“Let's get going then.” I say, as I start to lead the way once more. Madison follows behind me again. We settle into a comfortable silence that feels so familiar.

Walking through the woods with Madison again like this is nice. It takes me back to those simple days we spent together. Some days I find myself longing for that time again. It's not that I don't like being alive again. It's not that I'd want Madison to go back to suffering the way she did. I just miss the promise of eternity it offered. Of spending forever with her, and only her.

Normally I'd drive those thoughts away by remembering Tara and Morgan. How grateful I am to have a family of my own. The memory of Madison trying to sing karaoke. All the things I'd miss if I was still in the woods with her.

Today however, I let them sit. I'm not too sure how long we're here for, but I hope it will be long enough to go on more walks like this. Assuming we manage to make it safe, of course.

My daydreaming is brought to an end as the trees ahead of us fall away, and we step out into a clearing.

_Music:[Not What We Had Hoped For](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw9nNVWq0Kw)_

A large stone structure dominates the centre of it. The smell of blood and viscera fills the air, and I try not to gag.

Beside me Madison looks equally disgusted.

“Should we leave?” She asks. I shake my head.

“It's okay. I can handle it.” I reply. She looks at me uncertainly, before nodding.

“Alright, if you're sure.”

We take a few steps forward, and I start looking with a more critical eye.

The structure is a large dome, mostly smooth, except for a few staircases cut into the side. On one edge of the dome a spire extends up, holding a pole that sticks out over the middle. Hanging from it, in the very centre, is a large metal hook. It's stained red, though I can't say if it's from rust or blood.

Madison walks up to the dome, and begins climbing one of the staircases. She moves slowly, and is glancing around constantly, as if she expects something to jump out and grab her.

I don't blame her. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to take the first steps. With her leading the way however, I can step forward.

I follow her up the stairs, onto a small, round platform at the top. The top of the dome is open, leading into a large pit below. The base is covered in bones and blood. The walls are splattered with it as well, and covered in large gouge marks. They look about the right size for the White Hunter to have made them.

Around the top of the pit runs a walkway, with four other platforms like the one we're on. Looking a little closer, I can make out sigils on all of them.

“This is definitely it.” Madison says softly. I nod.

“There's nothing on the top to keep it inside.”

“Magic then?” Madison asks. I try not to let the giant smile on my face slip into my voice.

“Magic.” I agree. It's so lovely hearing the ever sceptical Madison suggesting magic. It will never grow old to me.

“Have we seen enough?”

“I think so. Let's get out of here before I don't want to eat lunch.”

“You? Not wanting to eat lunch? Well I never.” Madison teases, as we head back down the stairs.

“Not when all I can smell is blood and gore.”

“I suppose even the great Abigail is mortal.”

“Thanks to you.” We laugh softly as we step out of the clearing.

“Back to the cabin?”

“Yeah.”

“I'll text Tara to let her know.”

“Tell her to have Morgan cook. And that we'll be showering as soon as we're in.”

“I feel like if we're showering we should have Morgan wait. We aren't exactly quick in there.”

“Well that's your fault for being such a distraction.”

“I don't do anything!”

“You stand there naked and wet. That's enough of a distraction.”

“Should I shower with my clothes on next time?”

“No thank you. I quite like you naked and wet.” I glance over at Madison to see if I'm going too far. She's smiling, and chuckles softly at my flirtations. I smile back. She is perfect.

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

It takes us an hour to walk back to the cabin. Retracing our steps isn't too hard now that I've seen each of the landmarks I'm looking for.

When we get back, Tara throws herself at Madison again and hugs her.

“Mads, I was so worried!” She half cries.

“So was I. But we're alright.” Madison replies. It's cute seeing them this close again. They've still been best friends this past year, but they're always so busy. Seeing them able to appreciate each other again is nice.

“How did you get out of the storm? It got super bad while we were driving back.”

“I'll tell you over lunch. I want to go shower first. I think the smell of the prison got stuck on my skin.” Madison says. Tara leans forward and sniffs, before recoiling dramatically.

“Geez, how did I miss that?”

“I think you were too busy crying.”

“As if. I'd never cry.” Tara retorts. There's still tears visible on her cheeks.

“I guess I just imagined things. Anyway, we're going to shower. Morgan would you mind cooking lunch for us?”

“Sure.” Morgan replies.

“Thank you. You can tell me all about your interview when we're out too.” Madison offers.

“Yes! We got a killer lead!”

“I look forward to hearing all about it.”

Madison and I make our way to the bathroom, and quickly strip out of our gross clothes. The smell of blood unfortunately settled into them as well, and they'll have to be washed before we can even consider going out in them again. We climb into the shower together, and Madison starts the water.

Despite our earlier flirting, we're reasonably quick. We do stop to kiss a little, but for the most part we're preoccupied with getting clean, and getting out to tell the others. Once we're done, we slip back into our room to get new clothes, and return to the living room.

Morgan is just serving the food as we come out. I sit at the table and take a deep breath. The stew in front of me smells delicious. I wait for the others to get settled, before grabbing some bread, dipping it in the stew and taking a bite. It tastes even better somehow.

For a minute everyone focuses on eating, but once the initial rush dies down, Madison speaks up.

“So Tara, why don't we start with your lead?”

“Sure thing! So, we went and chatted with William, and he definitely knows something. I reckon he might be the cult leader.” Tara begins. There's a short pause.

“Okay...are you going to tell us why?”

“Right. So, he talked about how he was looking for a town like Arkrick with a spooky background. Which is exactly what someone looking to pick up an ancient cult would do, right? An outsider intrigued by the promise of the supernatural powers coming to town and bringing back an old cult to give himself power over weather. Sounds like a great story, right?”

“Yes, it sounds exactly like a story that he'd write. Do you have anything more concrete than vague comments?”

“Well...not exactly. But we got a lot of vague comments. And he sounded super menacing when we were leaving cause of the storm. Like, he was saying he hoped you were okay, but it was absolutely a threat.” Tara explains.

“Why did he say he hoped we were okay?”

“Oh right, we mentioned you were out filming B-Roll.” Madison frowns ever so slightly at that. If William was with the cult that would explain how they knew to come and find us. Though if they were interviewing him until the storm was coming in, how would he alert them? The storm felt very much like a magical attempt to kill us.

“Anything else?”

“He said something I found interesting. He talked about how people opposing the White Hunter were portrayed as either heroes or villains, depending on who they were, but not depending on the source.” Morgan adds.

“Oh yeah, that was pretty cool. So, Mads, what happened?”

“Well…” Madison pauses, clearly thinking.

“We ran into the cult.” I say finally.

“What? You mean William's innocent?” Tara groans.

“It was only two of them. But we now know for certain Vera is part of the cult. She approached us and asked us to help her.” Madison explains. Tara's eyes go wide.

“You mean we got a lead? That's awesome Mads! What happened? What did you say?”

“I tried to turn her down gently, but she...wasn't happy with that. She pulled a dagger on us.” Tara pauses.

“Wait, what? You're okay right? She didn't like, stab you or anything?”

“We're fine. She didn't get close to us. When she started advancing on us we um…we were saved. By the White Hunter.”

The sound of cutlery hitting the table rings through the room. I glance over to see Tara's dropped her spoon. She's staring at Madison, eyes somehow even wider, and her face pale.

“You mean...you saw it. And I missed it? Did you at least film it?”

“We didn't have a camera with us, so no.”

“What was it like? Describe it to me!” Tara insists. The story falls to the wayside for a few minutes while Madison tries to describe the White Hunter. Tara cuts her off regularly to ask questions, and pursue theories that are usually shot down. Finally she settles down, and Madison lays out how it saved us from the snow storm, and what we found at the prison.

I stop paying attention to the story as it goes. I lived through it all, and Madison doesn't miss details, so I'm content to focus on eating. When finally the story is done being told, Tara lets out a loud sigh.

“Geez. What do we even say to that? Our day sucked in comparison.”

“I don't think so. The storm was definitely the cult's doing. So you're probably right that William is the leader. When he heard we were out, he might've sent a message to go find us.” Madison suggests.

“But he didn't leave our sight. Unless it's telepathy.”

“Perhaps it is. I'm not inclined to rule anything out any more.” Madison concedes.

“Could William have come to our house that day? Did he have an alibi?” I ask.

“Just a phone call, but the other guy could easily be guilty. His wife was reading his manuscript at the time. She was so into it she let their dinner burn, so she probably wouldn't notice him leaving.” Tara explains.

“Well, that gives us a confirmed member, and two likely suspects. Who was he on the phone to?” Madison asks.

“Alban, I think he said.” Morgan answers.

“He was what, 50? So he wasn't the second cult member we saw. Which means we have a window where we can rule out more suspects. We should head into town and do some more interviewing.”

“Sounds good to me!” Tara declares. She's got a massive grin on her face. I really can't blame her. For how scary today was, it's been a big leap forward.

**Maddie**

_Music:_ [ _White Walls and Half-Timber_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)

I've barely finished eating by the time Tara is throwing the camera into the car with excitement. I can't blame her, I'm rather excited myself. We're going to do a quick check in on the suspects in town, and see if any of them have poor alibis for the day.

I give Abigail a quick hug once we're ready, and climb into the passenger seat. Letting Tara drive probably isn't the smartest idea I've ever had, but I'm not too comfortable driving on snow. Besides, despite giving her a hard time, I know she's not a terrible driver. She's just not as reliable as Morgan. In the middle of the day however, she should be fine.

“So I was thinking we'd swing past the mayor's office first, and see if the protest is still going on. If it is we can do an interview there, and see if they were there all day, and how the storm affected things.” Tara suggests.

“We've already interviewed the miners.” I point out. Tara waves her hand dismissively.

“We'll say we want to do some re-shoots of a few questions. Or that we've got a few new things we want to know about. Ask about William or something, see if they like an outsider in town.” I nod along. They're both surprisingly good ideas for Tara.

“And then what?”

“We'll also ask them if they saw the mayor leave, so we'll know if it was him.”

“Or his assistant.” I remind her.

“Right, yeah. If they saw anyone leave the office. After that we can swing by the local shops, check in on Man-o and Emily.”

“Menno.” I correct her.

“Right. And then there's just...Leon? The carpenter, right?”

“Among the people in town, yes. But Leon was also a lumberjack, so he might be out...lumberjacking.” Tara snorts.

“Well if he is, that just makes him a suspect.” She declares. I sigh.

“You're not wrong.”

We settle into a comfortable silence as the car approaches the town. Occasionally one of us speaks up to point something out, or ask a question about the plan, but it's never really important. We pull up outside the mayor's office to find the protest still going.

“Yo!” Tara calls, waving as she walks up to them.

“Miss Tara, to what do we owe this wonderful surprise?” One of the miners asks. They seem to be in better spirits than last time. Most of them seemed to appreciate being interviewed too.

It occurs to me maybe they just wanted someone to listen to them.

“We've just done some more filming around town, and a few new questions came up, if you guys don't mind.”

“We'd be happy to, right boys?” The miner turns to check the others behind him. They all nod in agreement.

“Great. Mads?”

“Give me a second.” I pull out the camera, and get it all set up. Once it's recording I give a quick thumbs up.

“Awesome. So, we had an interview with William Rohmer earlier today. He seems a bit...odd. I was wondering what local opinion of him was.”

“Mister Rohmer? He's a decent enough sort of man. Keeps to himself a lot.” The miner answers.

“Couple of folks aren't happy about him marrying Constanze though.” Another one pitches in.

“Why's that?” Tara jumps on the thread dangled in front of her.

“She was a real looker when he came by. Had a lot of men chasing her, myself included. Moment she met him she was charmed though. Some of the men who thought they had a chance were pissed off.”

“None of them ever did mind you. They were the ones who didn't know her well enough to realise it.”

“Is that it? No one's mad at him being an outsider in this small town?” Tara asks. The miners look around at each other thinking.

“Not really. Most people were happy for a new face to tell the truth.”

“Awesome, thank you! So a pretty bad storm came through a bit earlier. What did you guys do when it hit? I assume you didn't stay outside protesting.” Tara pivots on to the question that really matters.

“We all went down to the bar when it hit.”

“Is that what you do every time?”

“More or less. Sometimes some of us don't make it. Werner and Gotthard were getting coffee when it hit the other day. They had to take shelter in the mayor's office.”

“Was the mayor there?” Tara asks.

“Yeah, they said he was real accommodating.” The miner replies. Tara nods along.

“Awesome, thanks for the information! Good luck with the protests!”

“Thank you. Be safe, and I hope everyone else is helpful.”

“They have been so far.” Tara flashes a grin as we retreat to the car.

We climb back in, and Tara starts driving. Once we're moving, she speaks up.

“So, how was that? Think we can rule them out?”

“Them and the mayor, yes.” I reply.

“Wait. I forgot to ask if they'd seen anyone leave today.” Tara realises.

“I thought that was intentional. It probably would've been too unnatural for you to slip it in there.”

“You're probably right. Alright, let's go see the butcher.” Tara starts the car, and we drive a few streets over to the butchers. Like everything in this town it's a quaint building with a little sign hanging out the front to indicate it's purpose. In this case a sign in the shape of a pig.

We climb out of the car and step inside. Despite the exterior, it's fairly modern in here. Not that I'd really expect anything but for something as important as handling raw meat.

A bell rings as we pass through the door, and a young woman, barely a few years older than us, walks out from the back. She's quite pretty, despite the heavy apron and protective gloves she's wearing.

“Oh, new faces. That's a rare occurrence. What can I do for you?” She asks. It takes a second for me to recognise her as Emily. For some reason I hadn't quite processed the implication of this woman being the local butcher as meaning she...was actually a butcher.

“Hi! I'm Tara, and this is Maddie, we're doing a bit of an investigation into supernatural occurrences around here for our show. We're going around today interviewing major local figures, and you ended up on the list, if you don't mind.”

“I'm flattered you'd consider me a major figure. I don't mind answering some questions, but if another customer comes in they'll have to take priority.”

“That's fine. Do you mind if we film?”

“I don't imagine it would be a very good show if you didn't.” Emily teases. Tara laughs, and I start setting up the camera. “Where'd you hear about me anyway?”

“Our local guide, Sarah, suggested we talk to you.”

“Ah, Sarah huh. Odd, we don't see each other much.”

“You don't? Why not? Aren't you like...the most important store in town?” Tara asks. Emily chuckles at this.

“For most people, sure. But Sarah's never been one for meat, so she doesn't swing by often.” She replies. I can't say I'm surprised, given her appearance. I'm not one to judge a book by it's cover, but sometimes people aren't all that different from how they seem.

“We're set up, whenever you want to start.” I say, handing Tara the microphone.

“Great, let's do it.” She clears her throat, and takes a second to get into gear. Then she's off.

“Thanks for giving us some time today, let's get started with the basics. Would you mind introducing yourself for our viewers?” Tara asks, holding out the microphone.

“I'm Emily Stoppelbein, the local butcher here at Arkrick.” Emily says. “And this is my shop, The Butchers, since there's no other butcher here.”

“Nice and simple, I like it. I wonder if we could re-brand like that.” Tara muses.

“No.” I interject.

“Right, right. So, we're looking into any spooky goings on here in Arkrick. Is there anything that jumps to mind when you think about it?” Tara asks. Emily thinks for a moment.

“Well, the woods are pretty spooky honestly. I don't dare go out there if I can help it. It's way too creepy, especially at night. I assume you've heard about Joseph's death already. I can't imagine actually going out there. I wasn't really surprised when he turned up dead.”

“Grim, but I guess I can't blame you. It looks pretty spooky from our cabin. Especially when the storms come through. Speaking of, are they always this bad?”

“No, you've been pretty unlucky I'd say. Normally they don't get bad for another month or two at least. Though the month before this the weather's been weird, so I'm not surprised. Just part of life out here.” Tara nods along.

“What do you do when the storms hit?”

“During the day? Wait them out and hope my customers don't get stuck out there.”

“Alright, bit of a weird question. Where were you during the storm yesterday? We heard most people were huddled up in the bar, but there's a few people unaccounted for.”

“No shit that's a weird question. I was here, tending the shop when it came in. It was actually pretty lucky timing, Sigi, one of the hermits, was here to pick up his food for the month. If it had come any earlier or half an hour later, he'd have been caught in it. It barely held either of us up in the end, since it takes so long to cut everything for him.” That's awfully convenient, but I can't see it's unlikely. And it clears them both probably, since we're looking for a final cult member.

“Awesome, thanks! I'll be honest, we're probably going to cut that. We mostly ask in the hopes someone says something ominous we can put into a trailer.” Tara lies. Emily pauses for a second, before laughing.

“We can do it again if you like then. I'll make up something about glowing eyes in the storm.” She suggests.

“Would you? That'd be great!” I sigh. Well, we got what we needed out of this interview at least. There's no harm in letting Tara have some fun.

She ends up taking another twenty minutes. Most of it is spent talking about the crazy things that could be in the woods, though there's a bit of speculation about the White Hunter. Unfortunately my personal experience with the subject is enough to tell it's all completely wrong. But Tara is eating it up at least.

Finally they're done, and we head out to return to the car.

“That was productive, eh Mads?”

“Productive for filler content, sure.”

“How else am I gonna make a three parter out of this one?”

“I suppose substantiated claims and proof aren't exactly on brand for us.” There's a pause.

“You said us.”

“Did I? I meant you. Sorry.”

“No problem! Feeling nostalgic eh Mads?” Tara climbs into the car, obscuring the giant grin on her face. I follow her in, and dump the camera in the back. The grin is still there when I look at her again.

“A little. It's nice doing something I'm so familiar with. Well, some of it anyway. I'm not sure I want to be familiar with looking for monsters in snowy forests.”

“I'll be sure to find somewhere warm and tropical for the next real monster I find.”

“That's all I ask.”

Tara starts the car, and drives us out to the edge of town, to where the carpenter's shop is. We pull up outside to find it dead quiet. There's no lights, and a very obvious “CLOSED” sign hanging on the door.

We both stare in silence for a minute.

“What do we do now?”

“I'm not sure.”

We wait another minute.

“I'll go knock.”

“I don't think anyone will answer.”

“Better than doing nothing, right?”

I sigh as Tara gets out of the car. She's not wrong, at least. I climb out and follow her towards the door. Tara comes to a stop, and hesitates for a moment, before banging on the door loudly.

Then we wait.

And wait.

And wait…

“I don't think anyone's home Mads.” Tara says after a solid minute has passed.

“You don't say.”

“Well, it was worth a shot right?”

“If you're a damn fool, sure.” A man's voice cuts us off. We both freeze, and turn slowly to look the direction it came from.

We find Leon standing there, an axe resting on his shoulder. He looks like a lumberjack out of a fairytale.

“Oh, uh, hi. You must be Leon! Nice to meet you, I'm Tara and this is Maddie.” Tara regains her composure first, and jumps into it. She's doing her best to put on a brave face, but I can hear the nerves in her voice. Leon's sudden appearance has really spooked her.

“I know who you are. Hard not to hear about it. What can I do for you? I'm guessing you're not after any furniture.”

“We were hoping to get an interview actually. We're doing a show about the local legends of Arkrick, and so we're trying to interview important local figures.”

“Wouldn't exactly call myself important.” Leon remarks.

“You spend a lot of time out in the woods though, so you're among the most likely person to have seen something supernatural going on.” Tara explains. Leon nods.

“That's true. Alright, come on in and we can chat a little. But only a little, I've got wood to be processing.”

“That's all we ask!” Tara says. Leon pushes past her to the door, and lets us all in. I shoot Tara a quick look to see if she's sure about this. She gives me a firm nod in response. I can't say I disagree. I have a feeling that he knows something important.

“Alright, you filming it or what? You said it was for a show right.” Leon asks.

“If you don't mind!” Tara replied. Leon shrugs, and I set up the camera. It takes a minute, during which time Leon gets lights on, and generally makes the place look nicer. By the time I'm done, he's back, and a bit more presentable for the camera. I hand Tara the microphone, and hit record.

“Alright, would you mind introducing yourself for the viewers at home?” Tara asks, holding out the microphone.

“I'm Leon Schnell, the carpenter of Arkrick.”

“We're heard you're also the local lumberjack.”

“In so much as no one else fells wood professionally, so I have to get my own, that's right, though I wouldn't really bill myself as such.”

“Do you sell any of the wood you chop?”

“A bit. If I have leftovers.”

“I see. Well, I guess you spend a lot of time out in the woods. Have you seen anything supernatural out there in your time?”

_Music:[Is Something Out There](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D79FuHXJKAw)_

“Until a week ago I'd have laughed at you for thinking there might be something out there. But last week, a few days before they found Joseph dead, I think I saw the White Hunter.” Leon says. Tara gasps.

“What did it look like?”

“Like a big, gangly ape.” Leon says. I try to contain the snort that escapes at his description. It's not a bad way of describing it. “It's front legs were long, longer than it's back ones. More like arms, really, but it walked on all fours. Had a round, fuzzy body, and what looked like a deer skull for a head.”

“That sounds sick.” Tara replies. My suspicion of Leon drops to almost none. He's definitely had contact with the White Hunter. His description is too accurate for someone who hasn't seen it. But he's...well, he's alive. And if our theory is correct, and it only goes for cult members, then he's innocent.

“That's how I felt at least. Damn thing scared me half to death. It looked right at me. It's eyes were like glowing red spots in the dark sockets of the skull. Then it just left. Reached up into the trees with it's giant arms, and pulled itself up. Once it was up there, I lost track of it.”

“Have you seen it since?”

“No, and I hope I never see it again. That's enough excitement for one lifetime for me.”

“Well, in that case, thank you for your time Leon, we'll leave you to your carpentry.” Tara says, standing up and offering a hand. Leon shakes it.

“No worries. If you do find it...let me know. I want to be sure I'm not just crazy.”

“Don't worry, we've met plenty of crazy people in our time, and we're confident you're not one of them!” Tara replies.

“To be fair, the last person we thought was crazy turned out to be right.” I chip in.

“That was one time Mads.”

“I just want him to understand that you're not reliable.” I say. I turn to look him dead in the eye. “But for what it's worth...I believe you saw it.” Leon stares back at me for a moment, before nodding slowly.

“I believe you too.” He replies. I'm grateful I don't have to spell it out to him.

“Alright, let's go. We've just got to go see Menno now.” I say. Tara nods.

“Oh shit. I forgot about him. We should've gone there first!” Tara exclaims as we walk out the door.

“I'm sure a little extra driving won't hurt anyone.”

“It hurts the environment Mads.”

“I'm not sure I've ever heard you caring before.”

“Well yeah, but times change. I've got a new outlook on nature.”

“More like a new outlook on supernature.” I tease.

“Details details.” Tara laughs, as she climbs into the car. I do the same, and we start driving.

_Music:_ [ _A Place You Don't Belong_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)

It's not hard to find the local mechanic. His building is the most modern one in town. Not that that says much. We pull up outside the two garage doors that make the entrance to his shop. They're both open, revealing that only one of the two bays has anything in it, and it's not even a car.

Instead, a very familiar snowmobile is parked in the garage, looking quite beat up. It's very obvious that it was driven through at least a little of the storm that we were in earlier.

“That's the snowmobile.” I tell Tara softly. She whips her head to look at me, and then back to the snowmobile, as if it's somehow supernatural.

  
“Got it.” She replies. I'm glad I don't need to say much else. I'm not sure I could muster the words for it right now.

We climb out of the car, and walk up to the entrance, me lugging the camera along with us.

“Hey there!” A booming voice calls out to us as we get to the front. A tall, muscular man comes jogging forward from deeper in the garage, waving.

“Howdy.” Tara replies.

“You must be Tara and Morgan, the two girls Sarah rented that car for. I'm Menno, is it giving you any trouble?” The man asks. He comes to a stop in front of us, and I get a chance to inspect him a little closer. There's no mistaking that he's a mechanic from his oil-stained clothes.

“Close! I'm Tara, but this is Maddie, she's my original camera woman. She came out to help us when we realised how much ground we'd have to cover.” Tara explains.

“Nice to meet you.” I pitch in.

“Likewise! And the car?”

“No worries! It's been great. Very warm too!”

“Glad to hear it. So what can I do for you today then?”

“We're just going around and interviewing important local figures about the town, would you have time for a few questions?”

“Ah, I see. I'm afraid I'm a little busy today. As you can see someone made a real mess of their vehicle.” Menno points over his shoulder with his thumb.

“Really? What happened?” I ask. I try not to be too obvious as I tap the record button on the camera, before placing it down and starting to pick apart the tripod.

“Got caught in the storm earlier today, and took a few stray branches. Nothing too serious it seems, but I'll need to open it up and make sure. Could take me all day to finish.” Menno explains.

“Who's vehicle is it? We might want to interview them about getting caught in the storm.” Tara asks. Menno hesitates for a moment.

“Not too sure I should be giving away that sort of information. But then I guess most people here will happily tell you if you ask who they saw driving in. It's Vera's.”

“Vera? Who's that?” Tara asks.

“She's the librarian. I can write the address down for you if you like.”

“Oh! That's alright, Sarah already got it for us. We just haven't swung by yet. Do you think we should?”

“I wouldn't go today. Doesn't seem decent given what she went through today, but I don't see any reason you couldn't tomorrow.”

“Cool cool. We'll probably do that then. Thanks for your time! We'll leave you to it!” Tara declares. She waves as she heads back for the car.

“Thanks. If you do need anything with the car, drop by any time!” Menno calls back.

“We will!” Tara and I climb into the car, and start it up again. Once we've started driving, she looks at me for a second.

“Do you think he's in the cult?”

“I think you should keep your eyes on the road.”

“Relax Mads, there's no one driving here. So, what do you think?”

“I think so, yeah. I feel like I saw something with his figure. But I'm not sure. Let's talk about it more when we get back.”

“You got it.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there was ever a time I was sad to not be making this as a VN, it's this chapter. Without spoiling anything, I can just envision some GORGEOUS visuals for the Maddie section and I'm so sad it'll never come to life. Anyway, this chapter is what I've been looking forward to from the very beginning. You can tell because once I got started I did it in literally two days. Hopefully the next one will be fast too, but I don't see it as being too likely. I've picked up some work now, so I'm now basically working two jobs as I try and get my independent stuff working while also juggling the contract work that keeps me afloat in the meantime. I'll do my best!

** Tara **

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE&t)_

The house is nice and warm when Mads and I walk inside. I can hear the sound of Morgan and Abby cooking in the kitchen. I can only tell Abby's helping because of the soft singing drifting through the house.

Beside me, Mads looks positively spellbound. Not for the first time I consider teasing her about it, but as always I decide not to. She looks so happy, and I don't want to make her self-conscious about it.

We make our way to the dining table, and place down our gear. The noise seems to be enough to disturb the others, as Morgan pokes her head out of the kitchen.

“Welcome home.”

“Thanks!”

“Did you have any luck?”

“I'm not sure you could call anything we have here luck.” Mads replies. I roll my eyes.

“Geez Mads, don't be so negative. We got some killer leads today.”

“Emphasis on killer.” Mads says. I glance over at her to see if she's actually mad. It's been really hard to tell on this trip. She doesn't seem to be upset, just stressed. Can't really blame her for that one.

“Do we know who the cult is now?” Morgan asks. Mads shakes her head.

“We have some maybes, and a few hard nos, but nothing concrete really. We'll lay it out for you after dinner if you like.”

“That sounds good.”

“Speaking of which, what are we having?” I ask.

“Beef casserole.” Morgan replies. I'm not too surprised. Morgan's cooking always gets a bit more predictable and hearty when it gets cold. I'm not complaining. Everything she makes is delicious.

“I'll get started on exporting the videos. Maybe we'll find something if we review them.” Mads says. She picks up the camera and moves over to the living room table where her laptop is still set up from earlier.

With nothing better to do, I make my way into the kitchen to watch dinner being made. I keep saying I'll learn how to cook. I never do. Maybe today I'll actually pick up something useful.

I don't. Unless you consider the wafting aroma of delicious food useful.

It's definitely useful for building up my appetite.

Soon enough dinner's finished, and we settle around the table to eat, and lay out what we found. It's slow going, as Mads has to talk between mouthfuls. I try and help, but she always ends up cutting me off to correct something.

“Are you okay babe? You seem to have forgotten a lot of stuff.” Morgan asks as I get cut off for the fourth time.

“Oh yeah, totally fine! I'm just making it more interesting. Mads is glossing over all the cool stuff.”

“I'm telling them what happened. They'll know you're not being accurate if they watch the videos for themselves and see none of it happened.” Mads replies.

“Whatever Mads.” Mads sighs, and continues. The conclusion that she comes to is that we have a lot of mutually exclusive options that can't all be true, but nothing concrete.

“So do you have any guesses?” Abigail asks once Mads is done, and we've all finished eating.

“I think Menno maybe, but that just raises more questions.” Mads replies.

“Like what?”

“Like, are there maybe five members instead? Or was the person we saw driving the snow mobile was Alban.” Mads explains.

“I mean, it must've been, right?” I ask. “Who else could it be?”

“I don't know.” Mads sighs. “At least we know that Leon is in the clear for certain. And probably so is Emily and Sigi, unless we're wrong about Rohmer.”

“There's no way he's innocent!” I interject.

“I mean, I don't think you're wrong. The timing lined up too perfectly, and no one else knew we were out there.” Mads agrees. She takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Maybe we should rest for tonight.” Abby suggests.

“That sounds nice.” Mads replies. We all get up, and Morgan starts moving the dishes to the kitchen, while the rest of us head for the living room. Mads and Abigail crash onto the sofa, and I'm about to join them when the phone rings.

“I'll get it.” I announce. It's only a few steps away anyway, and I get it on the second ring.

_Music:[Daggersmile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UY0t0GamA)_

“Hello?”

“Good evening. Could I speak to Madison Raines please?”

“Sure. Mads, it's for you.” I say. I tuck the phone to my chest and mouth to her. “Kinda sus.” Mads nods as she gets up, and takes the phone from me. I stand close, trying to listen in.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Madison?” Mads tenses up a little at the sound of the voice.

“Speaking.”

“Wonderful. I'm very sorry our chat earlier today got interrupted. So glad that you made it out of that storm. It was a nasty piece of work that one. Anyway, I think we got off on the wrong foot, so I wanted to see if we could make amends. I promise, I'll be alone this time. And no knives.”

It dawns on me that it's Vera on the other side of the phone. I catch Mads' eye, and shake my head.

She shouldn't take a risk like this.

“I'm listening.” Mads replies. “It's fine.” She mouths to me.

“Great. I'll be waiting for you at the library tomorrow. You can bring Abigail if you like. I'll keep the library closed, but the door should be unlocked, so just let yourself in and ring a bell.”

“Can't wait.” Mads says dryly. And just like that, the conversation is over.

“You can't be serious. You're not actually going are you?”

“I don't think I have much choice. Not if we want to get to the bottom of this.”

“But...it's so dangerous!”

“Tara. Relax. I don't know why but...I kind of trust her.” Mads says. She looks me in the eye, and I can see she means it. There's no talking her out of it now. All I can do is support her.

“Okay, I trust you.” I say. We smile at each other, and return to the couch.

The evening passes relatively quietly. We talk, and relax, and try not to think too much about what's going on. Before we know it, we're off to bed.

_Music:[Restless One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-Lvd9sDHU)_

As we walk into the bedroom, I can immediately sense something's wrong with Morgan.

“You okay babe?” I ask her. She looks at me and smiles. It's a tired smile. One that I haven't seen since Eysenfeld.

“Yeah.” She replies. It's obviously a lie. I don't press her. I'm tired. She looks tired too. We can discuss it in the morning if we need to. So we just go to bed.

I fall asleep almost instantly, and I'm dead asleep all through the night. By the time I wake up, Mads and Abby have already left, so it's just Morgan and I.

“Let me make you some breakfast.” Morgan offers.

“Sounds good.” I reply. We make our way to the kitchen, and she cooks in silence. There's tension in the air. She knows I want to ask her what's wrong. She's waiting for it. But I don't want to potentially distract her from cooking and burn breakfast. So we just stand there. Tense and awkward.

When she's done, she's cooked enough for both of us, and we settle at the table.

“So, uh. What's up?” I ask. Real smooth. Morgan raises an eyebrow at me.

“Is that really how you're going to start this conversation?” She asks. I nod.

“Yeah. Felt the most, y'know, on-brand for me.” I tease. Morgan laughs softly.

“I'm just worried.” She says finally. “I've been thinking for a while...maybe we shouldn't be doing this.”

“What do you mean? Why not?”

“Because...we don't have to. And we're way out of our depth.”

“We've managed worse. We've got this.”

“We got lucky through worse.” Morgan replies. “We all almost died. Maddie did die.”

“Okay, but, y'know, it worked out. And we've got experience this time.”

“And it's not mattered at all. There are no fairies. No fairy queen magic powers for Madison to use. No forest spirits. Just giant monsters and people pulling daggers on our friends. And they just went to see the same person again!”

“Okay. When you put it that way it seems bad but like...we can't just leave, can we? Sarah needs our help.”

“We can just leave. And when Maddie comes back, if she doesn't have a good lead, we should.” Morgan says. “We...we're not cut out for this. We haven't really gotten any leads or clues, and it's not like one's just going to come knocking on our door.”

_Music:[Is Something Out There](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D79FuHXJKAw)_

As if on cue, Morgan is interrupted by a loud pounding at the door. It makes both of us jump. We exchange a cautious look, and stand up. As we walk over to the door, slowly, there's another set of loud bangs.

I creep up to the door, while Morgan hangs back. We wait a second, exchanging another look, before I throw the door open and jump back.

We're greeted by the face of a dead man. Specifically, Joseph.

He looks terrible. His face seems like it's melting, and he leans on the door frame clutching his stomach like he's wounded.

“What the...” It's all I can think to say.

Joseph looks up, and manages to flash us both a pained grin.

“Hi. Thought it was about time we had a chat. Mind if I come in?” He asks. I look over at Morgan, a massive grin on my face.

“You were saying?” I ask. Morgan just sighs.

** Maddie**

_Music:_ [ _Daggersmile_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UY0t0GamA)

The drive into Arkrick is tense, to say the least. I'd intended to come alone, but when I told Abigail last night, she insisted she come too. Now that I'm sitting in front of the library, I'm glad she's with me.

Despite Vera's assurances that we'll be safe, I feel like I'm walking into a trap. Like I'm just stretching my neck out, and politely asking for my head to be chopped off. But what else can I really do?

Apart from leave, that is. I could say we're going home. Turn around, drive back, pack our bags and catch the next train out.

But I know that not knowing would kill me. So instead I climb out of the car with Abigail, and push on the door to the library.

The lights are off, and it looks closed, but as promised the door swings open without a hitch. I stick my head inside.

“Hello?” I call.

Nothing.

I'm not sure what I expected. I step inside, and Abigail follows me.

The library is surprisingly warm. Warmer than anywhere else I've visited in town. I pull my scarf off as we peer into the darkness.

“Vera? Are you there?” I call again.

Nothing.

And then a distant creak. I can see a small glimmer of light deeper in the library.

“In here.” Vera's voice carries through the room back to us. I glance at Abigail. She gives me the bravest smile she can muster. I can see in her eyes she's suspicious too. It doesn't look like it isn't a trap. But then again, with how ominous and obvious it is, it doesn't feel to me like something you'd do if you were building a trap.

So I follow the voice into the light.

I slam my leg into a table once, as I move through the dark room. Behind me Abigail takes advantage of my pain and steps around it. Finally we make it to the door. Vera is standing at it, waiting for us. Beyond the door is an old stone staircase, descending into the ground.

“Ominous.” I remark. “Why would anyone make something like this?”

“It's just a basement. This building is over two hundred years old.” Vera replies.

“She's right, it's not that strange.” Abigail offers. Vera gives her a strange look.

“I didn't think you were one for historic architecture.” She remarks.

“Oh, um. I used to live in a town like this one.” Abigail explains quickly. Vera nods slowly.

“Well, come on down.” She says. She starts walking downstairs, and we follow slowly.

Sure enough, it leads into a largely innocent looking basement. It's lit mostly by candles, but there's a few electric lights in the ceiling, evening out the flickering light of the candles. The room is surrounded by bookshelves, much like the library above, though the books all look much older.

I suspect the candles are meant to help set a mood, while the ceiling lights keep the lighting steady enough to read.

“What are all these books on?” I ask.

“The White Hunter, and how to stop it.” Vera answers. She crossed the room with a purpose, and plucks one book off the shelf, before heading to a table in the middle of the room. She sets the book down, and sits in front of it, before gesturing to the two seats opposite her.

Abigail and I walk over and sit in them. They're just wooden chairs, and it's a little uncomfortable. I can't imagine sitting down here and reading would be pleasant. Once we're settled, Vera smiles at us.

“I'd like to tell you both a story, about the founding of Arkrick, and the White Hunter. I hope it will shed some light on why we're doing what we're doing, and why we might be on the same side after all.” Vera says.

“Alright, we're listening.” I reply. Vera pulls open the book, and clears her throat.

_Music:[Into Another World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg6mrtinLE)_

“A thousand years ago, the White Hunter roamed freely across the mountains. It patrolled back and forth along them as it pleased, killing and eating whomever it desired. The people who lived near by did so in fear. They regarded the White Hunter as a terrible deity, and worshipped it in the hopes of being spared.

They never were. The White Hunter would accept their tributes, and then murder and eat them as it pleased anyway. This was how it had always been. And for the people of the mountains, this is how it always would be. Until one day, a witch decided to put an end to it all.

The witch was a nomad, who travelled the world looking for a home. When she came to the mountains, and saw how the people lived, she felt sorry for them. She listened to their tales of hardship, and learned of the great powers the White Hunter possessed. With this knowledge, and sorrow in her heart, the witch set out to save them.

She recruited four talented young women from the town, and taught them how to channel magic. Then she set out into the mountains with them to catch the White Hunter. They found it resting in the snow, surrounded by the bloody remains of it's most recent meal. Quietly they took the blood, and used it to build a magic circle around the White Hunter. Once it was complete, the witch lead them in the casting of a ritual, that sealed the White Hunter within the circle.

When it awoke, the White Hunter was enraged. It could not leave the circle, but it howled, and pounded against it's boundaries. It begged and pleaded for release, and spun terrible lies to the witch, to try and convince her to free it. But the witch was too wise for it, and she was not fooled. When all else failed, the White Hunter gave up all pretence. It swore that it would hunt the witch, and all who followed her, to the end of it's days.

With the White Hunter sealed away, the witch set about constructing a prison around it, to spare those who passed it's horrible sight. Once her prison was done, she built a small cabin beside it, and lived there to watch over the White Hunter. For if she left, the seal would be broken, and it would be free to return to it's reign of terror across the villages.

The villagers that lived near by saw the witch living alone, and without help, and decided it was unfair. She had done so much for them, they should now help her. So they moved their villages down to be near her. And so the town of Arkrick was born.

For two hundred years the witch lived, sustaining herself off the power of the trapped White Hunter, until eventually, even that was not enough to keep her alive. As she neared her end, she taught five new young women how to maintain the seal. To the brightest among them, she taught how to drain power from it, such that she may sustain herself longer.

But in her old age, the witch had grown foolish. Though the woman she taught was bright, she was also vain and wicked. When the witch died, and the power moved on to her pupil, the new witch was cruel, and arrogant. She drew on the power greedily, and bewitched the townsfolk into being her puppets.

She lived extravagantly for a time, but after a mere ten years, she had taken too much from the seal. It snapped, and the White Hunter was loose once more. It hunted her down and murdered her that night. It wore her body in to town, and learned of who the other girls were. And then it hunted them down one by one. The last girl was too cunning for him however. She knew what was happening, and she hid.

While in hiding, she sent her friends out to gather people, and soon she had four new apprentices with her. She took them to the prison, and lured the White Hunter there once more. When it returned to the circle to kill her, she completed the spell once more, and trapped it again.

And such is the history of Arkrick. Every generation the burden of sealing the White Hunter is passed on. Every generation we run the risk of finding someone too greedy, who will break the seal again, and once again, someone must re-seal the White Hunter, lest it kill us all.” Vera finishes the story, and closes the book.

For a minute we just sit in stunned silence.

_Music:_ [ _Is Something Out There_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D79FuHXJKAw)

I don't know what to make of what we've heard today. It makes some sense. But it also raises even more questions. If the White Hunter is evil, why did it save us?

“That's...I don't know what to say.” I admit finally.

“I felt much the same way when I first heard it.” Vera replied. “But eventually I came around. I knew I had to do my part in all of this.”

“I think we should head home.” Abigail says. “I'd like a bit of time to think about it.”

“Of course.” Vera replies. She smiles. “I'll show you back upstairs.”

The three of us walk back into the library. Vera leads us through the dark room, and stops at the front desk to grab a small piece of paper. She scrawls something on it, and hands it to me.

“My number. In case you have questions.”

“Thank you very much. I'll...probably be in touch.” I say awkwardly.

“I look forward to it. Have a nice day.” Vera replies. She turns and walks off into the dark, leaving Abigail and I to see ourselves out, and return to the car.

“So, what do you make of that?” I ask finally as we climb in.

“I think it's a load of baloney.” Abigail replies.

“Why's that?”

“It feels like the story Evelyn told Eysenfeld. How do we know the witch was good? How do we know the White Hunter was bad? I just don't trust it. Not after it saved us. That's not the creature that was described in that story.” Abigail explains. I nod along slowly.

“I suppose you're right, yeah. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Morgan and Tara say though.”

** Morgan **

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAxGszmySU&t)_

It's a surreal experience watching Joseph walk into the house. He moves unnaturally, like he's not comfortable in his body. It occurs to me that he probably isn't. Because it's not Joseph. It's the White Hunter. I glance over at Tara to see if she's as concerned about this as I am.

She's not. She looks like it's her birthday and Christmas at the same time.

“Hey, okay, so, can we interview you?” She's asking.

“Of course. That's why I've come here after all.” Joseph replies. “May I sit by the fire? It's a rare luxury for me.”

“Oh sure, go for it. I'll go grab the camera.” Tara says.

“Do you um...want something to drink? Coffee maybe?” I ask awkwardly. Does an ancient man eating monster even know what coffee is?

“That sounds like it would be quite novel. Please.” Joseph says. The White Hunter, I correct myself again. While I know he's not human, I keep wanting to attribute the words to the human face.

I quickly make my way to the kitchen to get started on the coffee. Even in another room, I'm intently aware of the White Hunter's presence. I can't say what it is, but something about it just fills me with a knowledge.

This is magic.

This is ancient.

This is a force of nature.

And I'm making it coffee. I don't even know how it would like it's coffee. I end up brewing it about as strong as Tara likes it, but black and without sugars. The milk and sugar goes on a tray, and I bring the whole thing out.

Tara is already back, fussing about the camera as she tries to get it working. I carry the coffee over to the table, and set it down in front of the White Hunter.

“Thank you.” He says, smiling at me. The teeth aren't human. I'm sure someone else would flinch at this, but I'm almost used to it at this stage.

“I wasn't sure how you'd like it, so there's milk and sugar for you to get it to your taste.” I explain.

“I appreciate that.” He picks up the cup in an awkward, shaky grasp and takes a sip. “Disgusting. I love it.”

“I've got it!” Tara exclaims.

“Is it recording?” I ask.

“I think so.”

“Let me see.” I nudge her aside and investigate. It's recording, yes, but the focus is terrible. I stop the recording immediately, and fix the settings. It only takes a second to get it looking good. “Okay, ready?”

“Ready!” Tara declares. I press record. “So, Mister White Hunter, can I call you that?”

“Yes, that's fine.” The White Hunter responds, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Cool, this is my first time actually getting to interview a cryptid, so uh, I'm not too sure where to start, but I'll work it out.”

“How about we start with the story I wanted to tell you, and then you can ask some questions.” The White Hunter suggests.

“Sounds good to me!” Tara finger guns at him. For a second the White Hunter seems perplexed, but he doesn't comment.

“Very well. This story is the tale of how Arkrick came to be, and how the cult and I first became intertwined in fate.” The White Hunter begins.

“It was almost a thousand years ago that the cult first formed. Before then I roamed the mountains freely. I looked over the villages that had been formed there, and I passed judgement upon the wicked. I understand that to some humans, this is horrible, but I would ask you to understand what I am.

I am, at my core, an embodiment of hunting, and justice. When I look at a person, I see the wickedness in their heart. I know if they themselves, are a predator, a hunter of others, and if so, I hunt them. The people of the villages never understood this. But that was okay. The sheep don't understand the role of the shepherd, and I am no different than the blizzards that would roll through from time to time. A force of nature that takes lives from them. I did not expect them to understand.

One day however, a wicked woman came to one of the villages. Though I was far away, I could smell the darkness in her heart from across the mountains, and I knew danger had come. So I followed the scent, and went looking for her. Unfortunately, she found me first, and she was no ordinary woman.

She was a witch of considerable talent. She had charmed several of the villagers into serving as her disciples, and cast a spell to trap me. I was...displeased, and with a thousand years of hindsight, I see that I acted hastily. I swore vengeance that day. I swore that I would hunt her down when I was free, and all those who follow her.

A human swearing an oath is one thing. They are fickle and fleeting things. A mountain swearing an oath is another. The wind promising vengeance is something that will never happen. Because if something like that does swear such an oath, it will never be free of it until it is done. And so when at last I was free, I found her students, and I killed them. I had no choice.

But it was okay. They were wicked too. And I discovered, to my dismay, the villages I once loved were gone. In their place there was Arkrick. A town built to serve the first witch, and then her apprentices after she was gone. I killed four of them, and took their faces as trophy’s in the hunt. The last one however...she was not wicked.

And seeing her purity, I could not kill her. But neither could I flee. My oath would not let me. So when she found four new apprentices, and called me back to my prison, I could not resist. I didn't mind. None of her apprentices were wicked. She was a good girl. It pained me to watch as those she taught slowly turned against her. When they killed her, and threw her into my prison with me, I was distraught.

But such a decision was foolish. It broke the seal again, and I murdered them once more. But again, I missed one, and again, I was sealed away. This cycle has repeated on and on. Some of the witches who lock me away are truly wicked. Others are good. But none truly appreciate what they're doing, or why it's a mistake.”

The White Hunter finally finishes his story, and the two of us sit in silence for a moment. Only the crackling of the fire, and the loud slurp of coffee breaks it.

“This is very good by the way.”

“Thank you.” I say awkwardly.

“Okay. That's a sick story.” Tara declares. “So how did you get out this time?”

“The last cult that sealed me away didn't seem to truly believe it was magic. Their leader did, but the others seemed to think it was just a silly ritual they were performing. When the leader died, the seal started fading, and no one was there to fix it.” The White Hunter explained. I pause.

“Wait. Does this mean the current cult isn't linked to the old ones?” I ask. The White Hunter nods.

“I believe so. It appears as though they've used the old records to teach themselves the magic. They've certainly mastered the weather magic at least.”

“Do you know who the cult is?”

“No, I don't.” The White Hunter says. “But I can tell you that all but one of them are wicked.”

“Interesting. So does that mean you can't get free from your oath this time?” Tara asks.

“The oath is...weak now. Without direct tutelage, it's more tenuous to call the current cult students of that witch. I am confident that should the wicked ones all be killed, then I will be free from it.”

“And what then?” Morgan asks.

“Then I will hunt the wicked once more.” The White Hunter answers. He pauses for a second, and then groans loudly. “I'm sorry. I think this face has reached it's limit. You can have one last question before I have to go.”

“Why did you say Mads and Abby?” Tara shoots out instantly.

“Because they're two of the most pure girls I've seen.” The White Hunter answers. He takes the cup of coffee, and downs the rest, before standing up and heading for the door slowly. He stumbles a few steps, but makes it there. At the last second I think of the camera, and quickly move it to point out the door.

The White Hunter stumbles out into the snow. For a second he looks like a man about to die. He reaches a hand out to the sky, and I expect him to just fall over dead. Instead, the arm erupts into a long, spindly limb covered in white fur.

It reaches into the trees, and begins to pull him away. As he goes, the other arm reaches out and explodes. Then his legs explode out as they extend to the ground behind him. I never get to see his body do the same, but I have no doubt it does as the White Hunter departs into the trees.

Tara runs to the door after it.

“Tara!” I hiss. She ignores me. She stops at the door.

“Thank you for saving them!” She yells into the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments etc. are appreciated as Heart of the Woods is basically dead on here and I get very lonely writing this instead of my old LWA fic.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how frequent the music swapping is. There's a lot of sudden shifts in tone, and I wanted to give them all the appropriate mood but I fear I went a bit overboard. Feel free to skip a few of the music changes if you do listen along. It shouldn't throw anything off too much. Enjoy! Comments etc. appreciated as per always.

**Abigail**

_Music:_ [ _Isolation_ ](https://youtu.be/kFv8i5sC0og)

The drive back to the cabin is quiet. Only the sound of the wind stirring outside disturbs the awkward tranquility.

It's not that either of us are angry at each other. There's no tension in the air. Just an awkward confusion. Like we should say something about the story we heard, but don't know what.

So instead I stare out the window.

There's another storm coming, I can tell. The wind is a bit too strong for a calm day, and I can see clouds in the distance heralding snow.

If two hundred years in the forest was good for anything, it's knowing how to sense a storm coming from sight and sound alone.

“We should go a little faster.” I say.

“Why do you say that?” Madison asks. Despite questioning me, she does press down on the accelerator a little harder.

“I think there's a storm coming, and I don't want to have to wait to get back to the fire.” I reply. Madison laughs softly, and I smile. It's always so nice when I make her laugh.

We do end up beating the storm back to the cabin. It's close, but we make it. Had I said nothing we might not have.

“You are not going to believe what happened while you were gone!” Tara booms as we walk in through the front door.

“I think I'd believe anything right now.” Madison replies.

“The White Hunter paid a visit! He told us about the origins of the cult and everything!” Tara explains. “Morgan made him coffee!”

“I see. Let me guess, a witch and four apprentices sealed him away, and now he hunts down and kills the people who follow her teachings every time she escapes.” Madison says. She manages to make it sound casual and speculative.

Tara immediately deflates.

“What? How did you know?”

“We were told the same story by Vera.” Madison answers.

“In that case, let's sit down and compare stories.” Morgan suggests.

“I'll go make us coffee.” I offer.

“I'll help.” Morgan replies. As we walk into the kitchen, the cabin shudders as the first of the storm hits. The wind howls outside, and looking out a window I can see nothing but white beyond.

“So you made coffee for the White Hunter?” I ask as we start. Morgan sighs.

“Yeah. It's probably the weirdest thing I've ever done.” She says.

“That's saying a lot.”

“Tell me about it.”

“How did it take it?”

“I have no idea. I just made it how I make Tara's, but without the milk or sugar, and let it add those if it wanted. It didn't.”

“Did it like it at least?”

“It said it was disgusting, but also that it loved it.”

“Ancient spirits can be strange like that.” I say. Morgan pauses a second, before starting to laugh. “Is something the matter?”

“No! No, nothing's the matter.” She reassures me. She takes a deep breath and manages to suppress her laughter. “I'm just thinking about how long it's been since I've talked about...these sorts of things. And that we can even have this conversation.” I smile.

“Do you ever miss it?”

“Eysenfeld? No.”

“I mean...the things around Eysenfeld. The forest, Geladura, magic.”

“Sometimes. I don't miss dealing with it, but I miss the certainty that came with it. Sometimes I find myself wondering if it all really happened.” Morgan replies. “What about you?” I nod.

“Yes. I miss the forest, and the spirit a lot. But I wouldn't trade what I have now to go back. I'd miss Madison even more, I'm sure.” Morgan smiles.

“I understand.”

“Hey!” Tara's voice interrupts our conversation as it echoes down the hall. I'm impressed she can project over the storm outside. “Are you going to be much longer? I want to get started.”

“Go tell them we're almost done.” Morgan says, as she turns back to the mugs. Sure enough, she's been working this whole time. I barely did anything during the conversation. I walk back out, and deliver the news. A moment later Morgan is back out, with the coffees.

She sets them down around the table, and we get settled in to tell the stories.

_Music:[Is Something Out There](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D79FuHXJKAw)_

“How do we want to do this?” Madison asks once we're all ready.

“What do you mean? You tell yours and I'll tell mine.” Tara replies. Madison looks at her sceptically.

“I know you can't wait until I'm finished. How about we tell our version, and you can interrupt with details that contradict, or that I've probably passed.” Madison suggests. Tara nods along enthusiastically.

“Sounds good!” She replies. Madison launches into the story. I'm impressed with how well she remembers it. Some lines she manages to deliver as if she was reading from the book. Others she has to improvise, but she pulls it off flawlessly.

It's not long before Tara interjects. She corrects that the White Hunter was killing only bad people. Morgan clarifies that he said wicked people. Once the witch is brought up, Tara interjects to explain that she was extra super wicked. Finally, as our side of the story ends, Tara picks up, and explains how the surviving apprentice was murdered by her own apprentices.

When at last we've covered both sides of the story, Madison lets out a loud sigh.

“I'm not sure what to think.” She declares. She looks over at me. “What about you sweetheart?”

“I think I trust the White Hunter.” I say. Madison nods a little.

“Yeah, same!” Tara agrees. Morgan sighs.

“I'm not so sure.”

“Why not?” Madison asks.

“I might just be biased, but something about it's story felt off. I don't think it was lying, I just feel like it was warping things a bit, and making itself appear in the best light.” Morgan explains. Madison nods along slowly.

“I...feel like I agree.” She says finally. I can't fault her. We're all a bit biased right now.

“What? Why? Come on, it was super cool. Besides, it saved you! It said you guys were super pure.” Tara replies.

“That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for it's truthfulness.” Madison replies. She shoots me a pointed look as she says this, and winks. The implication is clear, and I feel my cheeks grow a little hot.

Only a little. I'm not ashamed of how much I love Madison. I just wish I could love her more right now.

“Okay but...look, we recorded it! Let's just watch it back, you'll see!” Tara insists.

“That's...not a bad idea. We don't have anything else to do.” Madison replies. She gets up and heads into the bedroom to retrieve her laptop. It takes a few minutes to set everything up, and move the file over, but once it's done we start the video.

By the end, I'm starting to share a little bit of Madison and Morgan's doubts. I don't feel nearly as sceptical as they obviously do, but I can see why they're concerned. Something about the way the White Hunter describes people sits wrong with me.

But then again, he's a spirit. They aren't human. Maybe that's just how he is. Ultimately, it's not important.

“What do we do now?” I ask after a minute of silence at the end of the video. That's the only important question right now.

_Music:[Why Am I Here?](https://youtu.be/-MflER_nWkk)_

“We could go home.” Tara jokes. She's got her usual jovial tone, but there's something about it that rings hollow. Like it's almost a real suggestion. Maybe it is.

“We could.” Madison agrees. “This situation will ultimately just resolve itself, one way or another. We don't need to be here. And we've made episodes with less footage than this.”

“It wouldn't be the most popular ending.” Morgan points out. “But maybe we could try something different. An unsolved mysteries sort of thing.”

Silence hangs in the air between us, as we mull over the idea.

“We can't leave now, even if we wanted to.” I point out. “Not until the storm's gone at least.”

“That's true.” Madison agrees. The silence resumes.

“Why are we here?” Morgan asks finally. The question hangs for a minute. “Are we just making an episode? Or are we helping?”

“We're helping.” Tara says almost immediately.

“That's right.” Madison agrees.

“Would leaving now help?” Morgan asks.

“No, but can we help if we stay? Are we even needed here?” Madison asks.

“I think so.” I reply. Everyone looks at me. “If the cult only has it's story passed down by books like this, it might not truly understand the White Hunter. I don't think many people could. But we all can. I lived with the forest spirit for two hundred years. Madison was the fairy queen. She knows what it's like to have magic. Morgan lived with a fairy queen for years, and spent most of her life fighting Evelyn. And Tara's the most open minded and accepting person I know. I think if there's anyone who can understand this situation, and bring the cycle to an end, it's us.”

_Music:[Wooden Hearts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyn-Tot9hOw)_

Everyone is smiling at me.

“You're right.” Madison says with a sigh.

“Yeah! We can do this!” Tara agrees. Morgan just nods along.

“Though, we still need to come up with a plan on where to start.” Madison muses.

“When the storm passes, let's go and talk to the hermit William was talking to on the phone.” I suggest. “We can see if what he says checks out.”

“Oh, that makes sense!” Tara says, snapping her fingers. “Something about William's story has been bugging me.”

“Why's that?” Madison asks. Tara shrugs.

“I dunno. I just have this feeling we're missing something. Y'know, like something really obvious. Like, if William wasn't a member of the cult, all of our other suspects would make a lot more sense.” Tara explains. Madison nods along.

“Yes, his connection to Alban does make things awkward.” She concedes. “Well, we can't do anything today. When the storm passes, we'll go and have a chat with him.”

Silence falls over the group for a moment. It's comfortable, and warm. I can't believe how lucky I am to have stumbled into such a wonderful family. This is all I could have ever asked for, and somehow more.

When finally the silence is broken, it's Tara suggesting we watch a movie together. Madison's face lights up, and she immediately starts rattling off options for us. Eventually we settle on a nice and easy comedy that Madison hasn't seen yet. It's about the only thing we can be confident we'll all enjoy.

Madison sets it all up, while Morgan makes us another round of drinks. Then we settle in on the couch to watch together. It's nice to finally spend time with all of them again. Quietly I decide we'll do this again when we get home. I want to spend even more time with my family.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

Watching a film with everyone is nice. It's not exactly a film I'm too interested in, but I know the others will like it. It's why I brought it. The cinematography is a bit too basic for my taste, and the comedy is admittedly rather low brow. But Tara laps it up, and when she's having a good time it's infectious.

The rest of the day is spent in a similar state of comfortable bliss, while the wind outside howls and buffets the house. I can't imagine a better way to spend a day like this. Well, not one that involves everyone here. If Tara and Morgan were out for the day, it would be a different story.

Finally the evening rolls around however, and we settle in to eat dinner. It's a more subdued meal than usual, in no small part because everyone has tired themselves out for the day already.

“After we've eaten, I'm going to watch the interview with the White Hunter again.” I announce.

“Why?” Tara asks.

“Something Abigail said earlier got me thinking. She mentioned that I have got real experience with magic, and it made me wonder if maybe I still have like...facts about it buried in my memories. So I want to re-watch it, then I'm going to try and see if I remember anything.” I explain.

“Oh, clever!” Tara replies. I smile.

“Thank you.” The rest of dinner passes uneventfully, and soon I'm returning to my room. I take a minute to get things set up, and put the interview on again.

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAxGszmySU)_

Immediately something about the White Hunter raises hairs. Looking at it with a critical eye, and a mind towards what I know of magic, it seems off. The way it moves reminds me of Evelyn at her worst. It's not as intense, but it's definitely wrong.

I understand judging by appearances is a mistake. When we saw the tree spirit it was massive and terrifying. But from my brief time with magic, I know some things. You can tell how something magic feels by how it looks.

The spirit was just massive when we were scared of it. It was physically massive because it was magically massive. It covered the entire forest, after all. Evelyn was broken and melting, because she was broken.

And the White Hunter...it looks uncomfortable. Like being in a human form constricts it. Like being bound by humanity constricts it. Which brings me to a simple conclusion. What it deems wicked, might not be what we would deem wicked.

It called us pure, or so Tara says. I know for a fact I've done plenty of impure things in my life. So why would it say we're the most pure girls it's seen? Perhaps it's the impact of the magic of the forest spirit. The fact that we were brought back by fairy magic? But if that's the case, then we can't trust that it could judge humans correctly.

I dig deep on this question. Is there something innate to our world like this? An innate goodness, or evilness? I know in my heart there is. I know that the fairies are innately good. That moon sickness makes them innately bad. From my time as queen I saw as much. The forest spirit was innately good too. But what about humans?

The standards of magical goodness and evilness feel arbitrary to me. When I grasp at the fleeting memories of being queen, I know that what I felt then doesn't line up to how I feel now. I was still myself, of course, but I was so much more as well. And that extra side of me...it would agree with the White Hunter. It would say he was right. But what about now me?

Now me isn't so sure. And that scares me. So I push the thoughts away.

_Music:[Isolation](https://youtu.be/kFv8i5sC0og)_

I climb to my feet, and walk over to the window. Normally I hate the windows on these cabins. The view into the forest is creepy. Even more so when I know what kinds of things are out there. But now I stare out into it.

The storm has slowed down now. Snow still passes the window, but I can see out into the forest. Into the inky blackness beyond. It's terrifying. But I don't look away. Instead I hope. I hope there's something else out there. Some other spirit, or something, which can help tip the balance that we find ourselves with.

I don't want to make this decision.

I don't want to have to determine what is right and wrong here.

How could I?

How could I possibly know what the correct course of action is?

But despite this, I know that it will fall to me.

Whatever happens out here...I'm the one who will make the final decision.

I hate it.

I step away from the window, and sit on the bed. I don't want to decide. So much rests on it.

So I just cry.

I place my head in my hands, and I cry.

I cry until my throat hurts, and my eyes ache. Until a headache starts to form, and I don't want to be awake any more.

I cry until I simply can't any more. And then I just sit, in the darkness, staring out the window a little longer.

It takes a few minutes, but soon the self-pity fades. In it's place, I'm simply cold.

I pull my jacket a little tighter, and walk back out into the living room to snuggle up against Abigail, and bask in the fire until the loneliness goes away again.

The others look at me, but to my surprise they all actually read the mood, and leave me be. Instead they continue the conversation that was going on before I came in.

Slowly I zone back in to the conversation.

Random words start making sense, and then full sentences. Finally I conclude that they're talking about a TV show Morgan and Tara have been watching lately.

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

Abigail is clearly a bit lost, but she's asking questions to try and understand it.

“Why don't we just watch it when we get home?” I ask.

“You could watch it while we're here! It's on Netflix!” Tara replies. I look at her sceptically.

“With this town's wi-fi?” Tara pauses.

“Right, yeah. I guess you should watch it when we get back.” She says.

It's not as bad as when it was in Eysenfeld, but it's not a ton better. At least we can have two computers watching YouTube. At 360p.

“Speaking of getting back, we should go out together when we do.” I announce.

“Do you wanna go to the movies?” Tara asks.

“That would be nice.”

“We could go for dinner too. Make it a double date!” Tara continues.

“I feel like a double date implies that we're still going on dates.” I tease.

“You don't?” Tara asks. I look up at Abigail.

“When did we last go on a date?” I ask her. She thinks for a moment.

“Ten months ago I think? We went on two, right?”

“That sounds right, yes.”

“Geez Mads, way to let the romance die.”

“We literally were ghosts together. We spent a few weeks spending every moment of our existence together. I don't think the romance could ever die after that. I just...don't feel the need to go on dates.” I explain.

Tara clicks her tongue, and shakes her head judgementally.

“We haven't been on a date for nine months.” Morgan announces.

“What? Yes we have! We go on a date for every Taranormal!” Tara exclaims.

“You bill it as a business expense, and we talk about how we're putting the show together. And it's always just dinner. Usually somewhere cheap.” Morgan replies. “I don't think that counts.”

“That totally counts! Back me up here Mads!”

“You're on your own for this one.” I laugh. “Though I can't believe you'd let the romance die.” Abigail laughs too.

Tara looks between the three of us, the look of defeat slowly growing on her face, before finally she sighs.

“Whatever. I'll just have to take you on a proper date when we get home then.”

“If you're just going to declare going out as a group is a double date, I don't think that counts.”

“What? Why not? It'd totally count.”

“Do Maddie and Abigail think it's a double date?” Morgan asks.

“I mean...maybe they will, we haven't gone yet.” Tara protests. Abigail and I are laughing harder now.

Morgan has the faintest smile on her face that betrays that she's not actually upset. I'm glad. I wouldn't want to think that her and Tara might actually be fighting.

I open my mouth to contribute.

Instead a yawn comes out.

“I suppose I should be heading to bed.” I say.

“We all should. We've got a big day tomorrow.” Morgan replies. I nod along. We do. We might be solving something important.

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

All four of us pack up and head to bed. I stumble into my pyjamas, and over to the bed.

Behind me Abigail does much the same. Though her pyjamas are a lot less substantial than mine.

I've tried several times to get her to wear more than a nightgown to bed, but two centuries spent in a light dress have made her too comfortable in it to break the habit.

I'm not really upset by it. It has it's conveniences.

I spare a glance at the window as I sit on the bed. The storm has picked back up. It's oddly comforting, though I can't say why.

Perhaps it's simply the knowledge no one can get here in the storm. We're safe from the world outside. Only the storm itself can harm us right now.

Or the White Hunter, I suppose, but I'm confident that won't happen.

I climb into bed, and Abigail curls up beside me. She's asleep almost instantly.

I close my eyes, and start to drift off.

I'm on the cusp of sleep when I can hear a dreadful, but distant sound.

A loud, animalistic howl echoes through the woods outside. It's barely audible over the storm, and I'm sure that Abigail missed it, being asleep as she is.

It reminds me of a wolf, but it's a bit deeper. I'm confident I know what's making it. I squeeze my eyes shut, and bask in the warmth of Abigail, the blankets, and the heater in the corner of our room.

That's a thing to think about tomorrow.

Tonight, I sleep.

**\--*--**

_Music:[Snowy Days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcoB96zkDg0)_

The next morning is busy. There's a quick discussion on who's going for the interview, but it's a near instant unanimous decision that everyone should go.

Considering the run in Abigail and I had with the cult last time we were alone, it just feels right.

So that means we have to get everything packed for the day. It'll be a decent trek out through the snow, so we're bringing a few thermoses of coffee, as well as sandwiches to eat if we decide to stop for lunch.

We make sure to pack a little extra, just in case we somehow end up eating lunch with Alban. It would be impolite to not have lunch for him too.

Once lunch and supplies are ready, we all pile into the car, and start driving into town. It's a bit cramped in the back with the basket of food and the camera equipment, but otherwise the drive is fine.

The town is busier than we expected. There's a large crowd gathered on one side of the town.

“Let's just pretend we didn't see that.” Tara suggests.

“I didn't think I'd hear you say that...ever.” I remark. Morgan doesn't give Tara a chance to change her mind thankfully.

“What can I say? I'm maturing.” Tara replies.

“I'll believe it when I see it. I bet you just didn't want the sandwiches to go to waste.”

“You got me.” Tara tries to sound like she's been caught, but there's a slight edge of concern to her voice. I don't blame her.

There's only one thing I can think of that would create such a big crowd.

I remember the howl last night. I have little doubt we'll find a rather grizzly sight if we go there. And right this second, I don't want to know who died.

For some reason, despite everything, I find myself hoping it wasn't Vera. She seemed nice, despite the knife pulling.

I idly wonder who else it could be. I haven't given a lot of thought to the suspects. Yesterday proved to be rather distracting.

Maybe it was Menno. He's really the only suspect we can say with some confidence is guilty. Though I'm not sure what would happen with our car if he was dead. That might prove tricky.

My thoughts are interrupted as the car comes to a stop at the edge of town, and we all climb out. I get the camera out, and hoist some of the equipment onto my shoulder. Tara does the same with the rest of it, while Morgan takes the basket.

“Lead the way.” Tara gestures to Abigail. For some reason she's become our designated navigator for this trip. I know why. Tara rejects all use of maps, and Morgan felt like Abigail would have a better shot navigating off landmarks, since she'd done it once already.

The trek through the forest is slower than last time, but just as beautiful. There's a decent amount of cloud cover today, dulling the sun as it lights up the snow, turning it from a blinding glare into a dim, pleasant glow.

The wind is slow and playful too, not bringing too much of a chill with it. It's about as pleasant weather as I can imagine we'd encounter here.

The company is pleasant too, though we mostly move in silence. I'm directly behind Abigail, with Tara behind me, and Morgan bringing up the rear. It's a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional remark about a landmark we pass, or an alert of an animal being spotted.

It's usually a bird, and more often than not it's scared off by the noise, ruining everyone else's chance to see it. Abigail huffs whenever she misses out.

Soon it's midday, and we've arrived at Alban's cabin.

We pause a short distance away.

“So uh, what's the plan now?” I ask.

“Just go up and knock, yeah?” Tara replies.

“Lead the way.”

Tara doesn't move.

“Are you nervous?” Morgan asks softly.

“What? No way! I'm just, y'know, getting in the head space for it.” Tara lies. She's very obviously nervous.

She waits another few seconds, before taking a deep breath. When she looks again, she's got her Taranormal face on. Then she's marching up to the door.

The rest of us scurry to keep up. I half expect Tara to try and bang the door down with enthusiasm.

Thankfully that doesn't happen.

She knocks politely, and we all form up a short distance behind her. There's a short delay, before finally the door swings open slowly, and we're greeted by an old man. He squints at us for a second, before his face lights up.

_Music:[White Walls and Half-Timber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8kTV0qTH0)_

“Oh, you must be those lovely Caranormal girls that William told me about.” He says. I try my best not to laugh.

To her credit, Tara doesn't miss a beat.

“Actually it's Taranormal, but you've given me a great idea for a miniseries about haunted cars.” She says, shooting finger guns at the old man. He takes a second to process, before chuckling.

“My apologies young lady. My hearing isn't what it used to be, and the telephone lines out here are dreadful for the best of us. Why don't you all come inside, I've got some water boiling for tea, and I was just thinking about lunch. I'm sure I can find something to whip up for you if you're peckish.”

“That's very nice of you sir, but we actually brought our own sandwiches for lunch. We've even got some for you if you'd like.” Tara says, as she steps inside.

“Well aren't you girls just the most lovely things. Or very skilled at buttering people up before you interview them.”

“We'd be out of a job if we hadn't picked up a few tricks.” I pitch in. Alban so far seems to be a rather friendly sort, and I'm not too worried about my attempts at humour going over poorly.

“That would certainly be a shame. So, pardon me, but I would like to get all of your names. And of course, my apologies for not introducing myself. I'm Alban, it's lovely to meet you all. I assume you must be Miss Tara, but I'm not familiar with the rest of you yet.” Alban points to Tara as he identifies her. She nods in acknowledgement.

“I'm Madison, or just Maddie. I'm Tara's former manager.” I introduce myself.

“Madison, what a lovely name.” Alban remarks.

“I'm Morgan, Tara's current manager.” Alban raises an eyebrow at this, but says nothing.

“And I'm Abigail, Madison's girlfriend.” Abigail introduces herself. She pauses a second before quickly adding. “Oh, and resident ghost expert.” I chuckle softly at this.

“Interesting. Lovely to meet you all. So I'm curious, why would Tara's former manager and her current manager be travelling together?” Alban gestures to some seats as he asks, and walks over to the kitchen where a kettle sits on the stove.

“I retired from Taranormal a year ago, but Tara felt like this was a similar case to the last one we did together, so she asked me to come and help out.” I explain. Alban nods along.

“I see, I see. I apologise for asking such personal questions. An old man like me doesn't get many visitors, and fewer still opportunities to gossip, so I relish the few I get. But I'm sure you came with some rather pressing questions.”

“We wouldn't call them pressing Percy, we're just making sure we've got as many of the facts as we can get.” I wince at how Tara butchers the pronunciation of per se.

“Well, whatever you need, I'd be happy to help. I'm big on bird watching you know, so I have a lot of tapes lying around. Most of them are of birds, but if any of them might help you, I'd be happy to let you borrow them.” Alban offers. Tara's face lights up at this. My interest is piqued too.

“Do you have any that have anything supernatural on them?” Tara asks.

“No, nothing supernatural.”

“What about any tapes with vague, mysterious shapes in the background?” I ask. “Even if you know it's just you walking, or something mundane, we could use it for a priming shot when talking about what might be out in the woods.”

“I'm sure I have something like that lying around. I'll go through them and let you know.” Alban offers. The kettle finally finishes boiling, and he starts preparing tea. “Though I'm not sure how I'd contact you.” He remarks.

“We're staying in the cabin on the outskirts of town. Sarah hooked us up with it.” Tara volunteers.

“Ah, I see. I'm sure I have the cabin's number. And if not, I can get it from William or Sarah.” Alban brings the tea over on a tray, and settles in to sit at the table with us. “Now, about those sandwiches you mentioned?”

“Of course.” Morgan says. She opens the basket, and starts setting the sandwiches on the table. We take a few minutes to sort out who's getting what, but soon enough everyone has a meal in front of them, and we begin to eat slowly.

Both the food and the tea is very good, and I'm a little annoyed when Tara presses on with the questions.

“So, the main reason we came to visit was we wanted to confirm something William told us. He said that you were on the phone with him when that big storm hit a few days back.” Tara says. “We've got reason to suspect some people were up to some shady stuff then, so we're just chatting with everyone who wasn't seen at the bar to see what they were doing.”

“Ah yes, I remember that phone call. We'd been talking about his recent book. I'm doing some test reading for him, or however it's called. Once the storm hit we stayed on the line until it passed, in case my power went out. Lovely man that William. Funny thing about that one, I moved the camera away from the window during the call, since the storm hit, and forgot to turn it off, so the whole conversation ended up recorder.”

I immediately sit up a little straighter in my seat. Video evidence of William being busy during the storm is...an incredible find for us. Though it raises a great deal more questions than we'd expected.

“That's...huh. Would you mind if we saw that video?” Tara asks. “We can just like, skip through it randomly. We just want to make sure William's story checks out, you know?”

“Well, if William's being suspected of being up to some shady stuff, I'd be honoured to clear his name.” Alban jokes. “I'll go get it for you.”

Alban stands up, and shuffles out of the room. As soon as he's gone, we all share a look. This could change everything we thought we knew about this case. It could completely redefine who we have to rule out as a suspect. I'm not sure if I'm excited, or scared by the prospect.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a weird one, and I apologize. Not gonna spoil anything with it, so I'll leave my thoughts until the end.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Isolation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFv8i5sC0og)_

When we set off today I prepared myself for a lot of things.

A confrontation with the cult again.

A murder scene caused by the White Hunter.

A banal waste of time.

What I hadn't prepared for was intently listening to a conversation between two older men about what they were planning for dinner.

One might argue it falls in the last category. Any other day I'd agree. But today it is important. I'm listening to the conversation between Alban and William, while watching a video of the snowstorm.

In the other room, everyone else is having a nice time, keeping Alban occupied and probing him for any other evidence of being part of the cult.

I don't think they'll find anything. I don't think they think so either. It's just an excuse to give me room to listen.

Unfortunately a video like this doesn't prove anything just by existing. I've edited together videos like this myself. I need to make sure that it isn't fake.

I'm very grateful for the snowstorm being captured in this video. It howls, and drowns out the conversation half the time. But it makes it much harder to fake. Simply layering an existing snowstorm over a conversation, or vice versa, would leave some small hints.

The microphone is directional, and it's clear that Alban is on one side, while the storm is on another. Whenever he gets up to fetch something in the house, his voice moves with it. Likewise, the few times he bumps the camera, the snowstorm's direction shifts.

If it's a fake, it's the most convincing one I've ever seen. And I have, unfortunately, seen a lot of fakes working with Tara. Though I think I prefer that over finding some of the things I've seen were real.

It's not impossible for it to be fake of course, but I doubt anyone in Arkrick has the ability to make something this clean. I take the headset off, and pause the video, before stepping back out into the other room.

Tara shoots me a pointed look as I step out. I give her a small nod, and a thumbs up from my side. She smiles, and nods back, before returning to listening to Alban's story. I sit down with the group again and try and listen in, but it's a doomed effort.

Whatever story he's telling, he's so far into it I can't pick up the thread.

When at last he's done he turns to me.

“I hope you found what you were looking for in there.” Alban says. I nod.

“I did, thank you.”

“Wonderful. Now, I suppose you should all be heading back, shouldn't you? I'm sure you all want to be back home before dinner time.” Alban declares.

“That would be nice, yes. Thank you very much for your hospitality.”

“Oh not at all, you lovely ladies brought me a wonderful lunch, and some company on an otherwise dull day. I should be thanking you.”

“Well, be sure to check out the episode when it comes out! I'm sure it'll fill another day as well.” Tara replies, firing off her signature finger guns.

“Most it would be spent waiting for it to buffer, but I'll be sure to do so.” Alban laughs.

We wrap up our goodbyes, and head back out into the snow.

_Music:[Wooden Hearts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyn-Tot9hOw)_

The mood on the walk is different from the trip out. The sun is starting to go down, and there's this sombre mood hanging over us.

I walk beside Abigail, her hand in mine. Ahead of us Tara and Morgan walk in the same way. There's something about the light dancing through the trees, the gentle breeze, and the relief of what just happened that makes it feel special.

Like I never want this moment to end.

I know that will change in a bit, when my legs start to get sore from wading through snow, but right this moment I'm content.

“So Mads, he's in the clear right?” Tara calls.

“That's right. I'd be impressed if anyone here could make such a convincing fake.” I call back.

“Could you do it?”

“Of course.”

“Well let's hope you're not secretly part of the cult too.” Tara teases.

“I wouldn't be so sloppy as to let you work it out if I was.” I reply. We all laugh for a moment, before the reality of our discovery sets in.

“So William's innocent, huh?”

“Yeah, he is.”

“Then...anyone could be a suspect again, right?”

“Not anyone, but more people, yes. But look on the bright side, less people are suspects now too.”

“I guess.” Tara kicks the snow as she walks. She takes a deep breath, and for a second I expect her to sigh. Or cry. Or scream. Instead she turns, and flashes me a massive grin. “Guess this'll just make the how we solved the mystery bit even better! We can spend a whole video hyping up the William and Alban angle, and then let it come crashing down on the reveal of him being innocent, and how we had to start again!”

I laugh.

“It sounds like it'll be a great video.”

“Oh...yeah.” Tara gets quiet again, and it dawns on me. Working together like this, she'd probably been forgetting I wasn't on the show any more.

“Especially since I'll help edit it.” I add. It's the least I can do after all this. Besides, she was right this time. There was another monster in the woods. Another evil lurking in an old village. It's the least I can do to congratulate her.

I just hope this is a lucky fluke. That she doesn't make a habit of finding more magic like this. Somehow it feels like a slippery slope. Like the more we learn, the easier it will be for her in the future. I hope it isn't. God do I hope this is the only time this happens again.

But it will make for a great video, that much is true.

And it's a video I want to part of.

“You're the best Mads. Thanks.” Tara replies. Her voice is softer than I expected. She doesn't look back as we walk, though I see her wipe her face a few times.

I decide not to say anything about it.

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

The walk back to the cabin, though long, is largely uneventful.

I'm glad to get off my feet, and collapse into an armchair as soon as we're inside. It occurs to me just how long I've been away that I'm so tired after today's walking. I used to be able to keep up with everything Tara threw at me.

“I'll get started on dinner.” Morgan calls as she heads for the kitchen.

“Awesome! We'll get started on making a new theory!” Tara replies. I wave a hand at her dismissively.

“We'll wait until after dinner. We should all be here for it.” I say. Tara sighs, but nods.

“Yeah, you're right. Sorry.”

“It's okay. I think I've been away from the show too long. It's starting to show.” I tease.

“You could always come back.”

“I think I would die the first time you wanted to break into somewhere again.”

“Oh come on, it's not that bad. We barely do it any more.”

“I still watch your show Tara. And you literally did it while we were here.”

“Okay so we've had like two.” Tara protests. I laugh softly. The conversation comes to a slow halt.

“Hey...thanks for coming out here. I know I've already said this. But...y'know...I really appreciate it and all.”

“Any time.”

I lean back in the chair and close my eyes. It's peaceful.

Before I know it, there's a flurry of activity around me. I throw my eyes open, expecting the worst.

It's just Tara, jumping up to go to the table. I blink. Why is she going to the table?

And what's that delicious smell?

“Madison? Are you awake?” Abigail asks softly from behind my chair. I look up, and blink again.

“Did I fall asleep?” I ask. Abigail laughs softly and nods.

“We didn't want to disturb you, but dinner's ready.”

“Thank you. I'll be right there.”

I take a second to properly wake up, before getting to my feet. My whole body feels like it's made of lead. Probably because I've just been asleep on a chair after a long day of walking.

I plod over to the table, and settle down to eat. We have our usual idle conversation over dinner, talking about the day, and what we're looking forward to about going home.

We eat slowly, drawing out the time we have. At first I don't notice it, but soon it becomes apparent the others are avoiding finishing. Then I notice I'm doing the same. The conversation that looms over us after this isn't a pleasant one. We should have enough evidence now to guess all of the cult members.

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)_

Despite all of our efforts, dinner does come to a conclusion. The conversation falls quiet, and with some reluctance we start clearing the dishes.

Even this takes longer than it should, but eventually, inevitably, it's done.

And then we're back in the living room.

Faced with the question.

Who is in the cult?

I take a deep breath.

“Let's get started shall we?” I suggest. Tara nods.

“Yeah, let's. Do we have a cool board we can put all of the pictures on?” She asks.

“I don't think so.” I reply, looking around. It occurs to me I haven't actually studied this house too closely.

“I think that board over there will come off the wall.” Morgan says, pointing to a cork board up near the phone. It's got a bunch of papers already pinned to it, and I'd gotten so used to it being part of the background I forgot it's actual purpose.

Morgan takes a moment to lift it off the wall, and sets it up on the table. Once it's there, Tara grabs the photos, and starts gleefully pinning them up. Once she's done, I walk over.

“Do you mind if I go over it?” I ask.

“Be my guest.” Tara replies. She drops onto the couch, and I get up behind the board to look at everyone. “Wait, hang on!”

Before I can say anything Tara's up, and running to her room. She returns quickly with a camera, which she sets up behind the couch, and starts filming.

“Why are you filming this?”

“It'll make a great section for the episode.”

“I didn't agree to this.”

“Trust me Mads, it'll be great. People will be stoked to see you guest-starring properly.” Tara insists. I sigh. I won't talk her out of this one. So I simply nod.

“Alright. Let's start with what we know for sure. Werner, Gotthard, and the Mayor are all innocent, or all guilty. But I doubt that.” I pull their photos off from where they are, and move them to the right, my arbitrary innocent location.

“On top of that, Leon is also innocent, and Vera is definitely part of the cult.” I move Leon to the right, and Vera to the left, the arbitrary cult side.

“So that leaves us with eight unconfirmed suspects. We now know that William and Alban are innocent, so we can move them too.” I do so. “Which means if we guess wildly it's now a 50/50 shot. But I think that I saw Menno, so we think he's guilty.” I move him to the cult side, but lower.

“And that leaves us with two.” Tara announces.

“Right, but one of them had to come with Vera, so it couldn't have been the hermit who met with Emily, and I don't think it's Emily either.” I move them to the innocent side as well.

“So, how did Vera know where to find you? Since we thought it was William?” Tara asks. I pause, chewing on my lip for a second.

“Maybe Constanze wasn't reading the book. Maybe she burnt dinner because she was out with the cult.” Morgan suggests. Tara snaps her fingers.

“Why didn't we think of that?” She asks.

“You were too convinced William was being sinister.” Morgan teases. I smile.

“So who's the last one?” I ask, picking up Constanze and moving her over to the cult side.

“Why wasn't Ada with the Mayor?” Abigail asks suddenly. There's a long pause.

I move Ada over to the cult side. It's so obvious, I cannot believe it slipped past me. Then I move the others to the innocent side.

“Does this look good?” I ask once it's all done.

“I think so!” Tara declares. I smile, and let out a long sigh. I'm not sure what comes next. We didn't make a plan for what to do when we found the cult members. I suppose we'll just have to wait until we can tell Sarah tomorrow.

My thoughts are cut off by the ringing of the phone. Speak of the devil.

“I'll get it.” I say, heading over to the phone. I pick it up. “He-”

“Oh thank god you're finally there. I've tried to call you so many times today.” Sarah gushes on the other side of the phone. She sounds scared.

“We were out, sorry. What's the matter?” I ask.

“Ada and Manno have been found dead.” Sarah replies. I pause. I'm not sure what to say. “Hello?”

“Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. I just...didn't know what to say.”

“I understand. It's a lot. Do you think they were part of the cult?”

“We're pretty sure, yeah. And we're pretty sure we've found the last two members.” I say. It's Sarah's turn to pause.

“I'll be right there.” And then the phone line is dead.

**Morgan**

_Music:[Not What We Hoped For](https://youtu.be/kw9nNVWq0Kw)_

Whatever mood there was from our discovery is immediately dragged down by the revelation that two members of the cult are dead.

I'm not sure how we're supposed to feel about this.

Clearly no one else is either.

They threatened Maddie and Abigail. Twice. They may well be willing to kill us. Maybe I should be glad there's less people out there like that.

But on the other hand, they haven't actually tried. They made efforts to warn us off. They tried to talk to Maddie before resorting to violence. And we don't even know if they would have actually used the dagger.

They don't seem like bad people to me. And knowing how they think of the White Hunter...maybe they're good people at the heart of everything.

Maybe we're the ones in the wrong here.

I shake the thought from my head. It won't do any good to think like this.

Thankfully, I'm not forced to try and keep my mind away from it long. Soon we can hear the sound of Sarah's car pulling up outside. She lets herself in.

“Hey, you all alright?” She asks.

“Yeah, we're fine.” Tara lies. It's so obviously a lie it's painful.

“Yeah, same.” Sarah replies. “So, you think they're in the cult?”

“Now that they're dead, we're sure of it.” Maddie remarks. She sounds bitter, and frustrated. I don't blame her.

“And who else do you think is in it?” Sarah asks.

“Constanze and Vera.” Maddie responds. Sarah nods slowly.

“So uh...now what?” She asks. There's silence. That's the real question isn't it.

“I think we were hoping you'd know.” Tara says finally.

“I'm not sure. I honestly...kind of didn't expect to find anything. I'd really hoped you'd just come and prove it was a hoax.” Sarah admits. This gets a hollow laugh from Maddie.

“They don't seem like bad people.” I say.

“What? How can you say that? They tried to kill Mads!” Tara demands.

“They tried to talk to her first. And they tried to warn us away before that. If they wanted to kill us they could just burn down the cabin any time.” I retort. Tara stares at me for a moment, fuming, before sighing.

“I guess you're right.” She admits.

“That's a good point. Maybe...” Maddie starts to say something before she stops. “Nevermind.”

“No, what is it?” Sarah pushes.

“Maybe they are the good guys. Maybe the White Hunter was just lying to us.” Maddie suggests. She pauses, and shakes her head. “But it could be the other way around just as easily. We just don't know enough.”

“How could we know? It's not like any of our sources are that reliable. We don't have the ghost of a previous victim to confirm a story for us.” I say.

“We could talk to them.” Abigail suggests. She's been so quiet I almost forgot she was there.

“I'm not sure that's a good idea sweetheart.” Maddie says softly.

“Why not? The White Hunter didn't hurt us before. Maybe if we talk to him we'll learn something. Or maybe we could talk the cult out of trying to seal him away. If there's no one still trying to seal him away, he should be free, right?” Abigail suggests. Maddie pauses.

“I think so?” She says. “It's not something I...actually, yes. He would be.”

“How do you know?” Sarah asks. Maddie gives her an awkward smile.

“Um, sometimes little bits about magic, or other stuff, come back to me from my time as the fairy queen. I can sometimes try to remember things, but usually they're just little memories or facts that surface when I need them.” She explains.

“Hold up. You actually became a fairy queen? Tara kinda glossed over that bit.” Sarah asks. Maddie nods.

“I did, yeah.”

“That's crazy. That is so cool. You have to tell me all about it!” Sarah insists. Maddie's smile grows more awkward.

“Maybe later. We should focus on coming up with a plan for tonight.”

“Right, right, yeah. So, talking to them huh?”

“I think it's a good idea. Let's try it!” Tara declares.

“What do we even say?” I ask.

“Maybe we could convince the cult to give up. And then like...call for a meeting so they can talk it out, and come to understand one another?” Tara suggests.

“That sounds...dangerous.” Maddie remarks. I nod.

“I agree.”

“Well, what else can we do? It's not like we can actually stop anyone from doing whatever they're going to do!” Tara asks. Maddie takes a deep breath and sighs.

“Okay, you're right. We'll go talk to the cult tomorrow.”

“Why don't we split up?” I suggest. “We've already talked to the White Hunter, and you've talked to Vera. Maybe if we reverse it we'll learn something new.”

“Yeah! That's a good idea!” Tara says. I immediately regret my decision. Looking around at everyone else, they seem equally conflicted. Finally Maddie sighs.

“It's not like things can go much worse, right?” She says finally. And just like that, it's decided.

**Abigail**

_Music:[Snowy Days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcoB96zkDg0)_

Despite all the gloom of the night before, I can't help but be overjoyed when Madison and I head out into the woods the next day.

Walking with everyone was nice, but spending time with just Madison is indescribably better. Even if it is as we go on a search for an ancient monster.

I've had a lot of time to think about the White Hunter. About everything we've heard about it. No matter what we hear, I keep remembering the lack of warmth and kindness I felt when I saw it. I can't help but feel afraid.

Even if it won't hurt us. And I'm confident it won't. My gut tells me it doesn't lie. But even if it won't, I'm still scared. Not lying, and telling the truth are two very different things after all, and I can't shake the feeling that it's somehow trying to trick us.

“Do you think we're doing the right thing?” I ask Madison as we walk. We're not going anywhere in particular. We're just wandering.

“I'm not sure. But I don't really know what else we can do.” Madison replies. I nod. That's the only reason I haven't really protested the idea.

“Well, so long as I get to walk with you, I don't mind.” I declare. Madison smiles at me.

“It is nice. Maybe if we have time when this is all done we could come back out here for a picnic.” She suggests.

“Eating in the woods. That's a...mostly new activity for us.” I tease. Madison laughs softly.

“Newer for you, as I recall.” She teases back. I bite my lip.

“I make no apologies for knowing what I want.”

“I wasn't complaining. Now or then.”

“Funny, I think I heard something that sounded like a complaint at the time.”

“I'm not going to let you drag me any further into this.” Madison declares. I flash her a big, victorious smile. Madison isn't exactly a prude, but it's always fun to try and rile her up to the point that she wants to change the subject.

“In that case should we see if we can call out to the White Hunter?” I ask. Madison sighs, and nods. She comes to a stop.

“HELLO? WHITE HUNTER? ARE YOU OUT THERE?” Madison yells. Then we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

“I don't think it's co-” Madison starts to say. She's cut off by the sound of wood lurching and snapping. We spin in the direction, expecting to see the White Hunter.

There's nothing.

“Well, I guess we'd better keep moving...” Madison says.

“That won't be necessary. I'm right here.” A somewhat familiar voice calls from behind a tree.

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAxGszmySU)_

We turn to look again. From behind the tree steps an older woman. It takes a second, but I recognise her as Ada.

“Do you have to wear a face like that?” Madison asks. She sounds a little creeped out. I don't blame her.

“Unfortunately, yes. My natural form isn't nearly as eloquent as the human form. I'll do my best to distinguish my voice and mannerisms from Ada however.” The White Hunter replies. Madison nods.

“I...appreciate the thought at least.”

“So, what can I do for you?” The White Hunter asks.

“We um, had some questions for you. If you don't mind.” I reply.

“Of course. Are you sure you wouldn't rather ask back at your house? It's much warmer there as I recall.”

“We're fine out here thank you.” Madison says.

“Very well. Continue.” I take a deep breath, trying to compose my thoughts. Madison and I had discussed this, and decided I'd be the best one to ask the questions. I had spent two centuries with a different spirit after all. If anyone would know what to ask it should be me.

“What makes a person wicked?” I ask. If anything will tell us what the White Hunter will do after it's free it's this.

“Their heart, and what they store inside it. A person who fills their heart with rage, envy, fear, or pride, will inevitably be wicked. There's more to that list of course, but that is the root of it.”

“What about actions?”

“Actions do not factor in to one's nature, and it is that which I see. A man may do nothing but good, but if his heart is wicked, I will still hunt him. Likewise a man could do that which you consider wrong, but if his heart is pure, he is not my concern.” The White Hunter explains. I chew on my lip for a second, thinking. Finally, the only two questions that matter come to me.

“If a person has a wicked heart, will they eventually become more wicked?”

“Yes.”

“Does revenge make a wicked heart?” I ask. The White Hunter nods.

“Yes.”

“I see, thank you.” I glance over at Madison. She's about to open her mouth. I widen my eyes a little, and try and shake my head as subtly as possible. She picks up on the hint.

“Thank you. I think that's all we wanted. We'll come calling again if we need you once more.” She says.

“Of course. Until then.” The White Hunter replies. And then it's gone, walking into the woods, and through the trees in a way I cannot fathom any longer.

Madison and I walk back to the cabin in silence. It's only after we walk inside that Madison speaks up.

“Why didn't we invite him?”

“Because...I think the White Hunter is wicked now too.” I explain. Madison looks like she's about to reply, but the sound of her phone going off interrupts her. She pulls it out of her pocket, and looks down.

“Oh shit. Tara is taking Vera and Constanze to the prison to meet the White Hunter.”

**Tara**

_Music:[Restless One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-Lvd9sDHU)_

The drive into town is quiet and tense. I can feel Morgan's discomfort radiating off her. I understand that she hasn't been thrilled about being here for a while. I can't blame her.

Before this, her life was fresh. There was nothing to remind her of Eysenfeld except the fact she'd met us there. But she'd done everything before that there too, so it wasn't a huge deal I guess.

But then I dragged her out here. To a place like her old home, to investigate a mystery like the one that had loomed over her whole life.

She's been amazingly chill about it, all things considered.

“Hey, thanks for being cool.” I say.

“Huh?” Morgan replies. She was clearly lost in thought.

“I said thanks for being cool. Like, about all of this. I know this is all probably too much like Eysenfeld for you. And I appreciate you not...y'know, blowing up about it, or leaving, or whatever.” I explain.

Morgan sighs, and glances over at me with a small smile. It's brief, as her eyes snap back to the road as soon as she's gotten the message across.

“That's not it. I'm not upset about being here. I'm just...worried about how we'll solve all of this. We beat Evelynn through...well, luck, basically. And I'm not sure if we're going to get lucky again.” She says.

“Well, we've been pretty lucky so far. I think we'll make it.” I reply. Morgan nods.

“Yeah. You're right. I'm feeling better now. At least we have a bit of a plan. And we know we're probably not in much danger.”

“Right? I mean, we'll be fine no matter what. It's just...other people we have to worry about.” I frown a little as I say it. It was meant to be reassuring, but I think I missed the mark there.

Morgan laughs softly. That's something at least.

“Yeah. That's probably more scary honestly.” She says.

“Well just think. We'll be even better equipped for the next monster we run into!”

Morgan laughs again. It's louder, and has more joy in it.

“Yeah. Alright, we're here.” She pulls the car over. I look to the side, and see that we're outside William's house again. We climb out of the car, and head over to knock on the door.

_Music:[Daggersmile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UY0t0GamA)_

The door swings open after a short delay, and we're face to face with Constanze once again. This time there's something intimidating about her presence. I do my best to brush it away.

“Oh, Tara and Morgan! It's so nice of you to drop by again. William's in his study right now, but I can just go and get him if you like.” Constanze offers. I smile.

“Thanks, but we were hoping we could chat with you actually. Well, you and Vera.” I try and carry the implication in my tone. Constanze pauses for a second, clearly processing how likely it is we know.

“We know.” Morgan reassures her. Constanze sighs and nods.

“Very well. Come on in. I'll call her now.” She says. The warmth in her tone has evaporated, replaced with a stiff coldness.

We step inside, and make our way to the same set of couches we were on last time.

Now that we're here, it occurs to me walking in to the house of the woman we just indirectly accused of being the head of a cult isn't very wise.

Especially since she just admitted to it, at least, indirectly. But then, doing the smart thing isn't really on brand for Taranormal.

We're left to sit for a few minutes, before Constanze comes back. She's carrying a large silver tray with her, filled with cookies, and bearing a few cups of tea. She places it in front of us, and sits down.

“So when did you work it out?” She asked.

“Yesterday. We thought William was the leader, since we mentioned where Mads and Abby were to you and then they were in trouble. But Alban had recorded his conversation with William by accident.” I explain. Constanze clicks her tongue.

“Figures. I thought he'd be the perfect scapegoat. He's so good at accidentally sounding threatening too.” She remarks.

“Do you not love your husband?” Morgan asks.

“Oh, I do. Of course I do.”

“Then why try and use him as a scapegoat?”

“Because I knew you wouldn't do anything, and it was only a matter of time before we could complete the ritual. We just needed to find one more. If I could throw you off for a week or two, that would be enough.” Constanze explains.

“You're...surprisingly open about all of this.” I remark. I'd expected to have to pry to get anything from her, but Constanze is just spilling the beans. She shrugs.

“I'm already a dead woman. I may as well vent while I can.” She explains. I nod.

Right, that makes sense. With only two cult members left they wouldn't have enough to seal the White Hunter unless they picked up three new recruits. And I'm not sure where they'd find three people willing to do it so quickly.

“Why did you join the cult?” I ask.

“To save the town, obviously. Though, a bit more time to live, and feel young, was a nice secondary incentive. I'd hoped that I could show William when it was all done. It might've inspired him. That would have been nice.” Constanze replies.

The conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door. Constanze quickly excuses herself, and storms across the room to open the door.

She returns a minute later with Vera in tow.

“So, now that we're both here, I assume you wanted more than to just interrogate me.” Constanze says.

I glance over at Morgan. It's the last chance to back out. She nods a little. I take a deep breath.

“We wanted to see if we could get you and the White Hunter to talk. It seems like he targets you because of the oath he swore. It forces him to kill anyone who follows the witch that trapped him. So we were thinking maybe if you gave up, put it aside, he would be free. And then you'd be able to work out a way to co-exist.” I explain.

There's a long pause. Constanze and Vera look at each other. It seems like they're having a conversation with their eyes. Maybe they are. Maybe they have telepathy. Either way, after a moment Constanze sighs, and nods.

“Very well. We'll go with you to meet him.” She says. I grin.

“Alright, let's get going! We're going to meet him at the prison. Assuming Mads convinces him.” I explain. I pull out my phone, and shoot Mads a text to let her know that we've succeeded.

As I do, I glance at my battery. 4%. That's not good. I quickly turn it off, and put it in my pocket. If Mads responds in the next few minutes I should have enough battery to catch it.

Sure enough, the phone whistles. I pull it out of my pocket again and check it.

“Met with White Hunter. It see-”

Before I can read the rest of the message the phone dies. Well, it seems like they worked things out.

“Alright, everything should be good. Let's get going!” I declare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, I think every single perspective swap could have been a chapter in and of itself. We just had so many moments that felt like great cliffhanger-y endings, but I didn't want to short change you on chapter length. Also it feels like stuff happens...a bit too fast overall, but well...that's how mysteries tend to go. You find one bit, and everything just comes undone very quickly.
> 
> Next chapter will be coming real soon as I'm hyped up to get it done.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Take your time" - Trashley not realizing I'm a BEAST.
> 
> So yeah, two days of work to get this out. Technically. Since I also finished up the last chapter last night and then just kept going. So this marks a little over 24 hours to get this one out. More thoughts at the end to avoid spoilers.

**Maddie**

_Music:[No Escape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i_YrcZuDlg)_

My driving is reckless as we head for town. I don't have time to think about being careful. Too much is at stake right now. Too much could go horribly wrong.

As soon as Tara messaged me, I shot back a response explaining what happened.

She didn't even read it.

I know what Tara's like. Without hearing that things have gone wrong she'll assume everything's fine, and head for the meeting.

I tried messaging Morgan. Her phone was in her room.

I'd be angrier at myself for not harassing her to bring it, but Abigail barely keeps her phone charged, and that's on me too.

So I called Sarah. She came up straight away. I was surprised when she let me drive, but I won't complain.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Abigail, watching me with a concerned look.

I don't blame her.

I'd be doing the same if I was in her position.

We barely miss a tree as I turn a bit too sharply to get into town. Then we're on the streets.

They zoom past us. I see a few locals looking at us confused. No one drives this fast in town.

Then we're at the edge of town. As far as we'll get in a car to the prison.

Tara's car is already parked here.

The three of us jump out of the car, and throw jackets on, before trudging out into the snow.

The weather's taken a turn for the worse since this morning.

The wind hits us square in the face, cold and unforgiving, and snow gently falls.

Sarah's assured us it probably won't get any worse than this. God do I hope she's right.

But even if it will, I'm not going to leave Tara and Morgan out there alone.

Now that we're here, everything seems so clear to me.

Of course the White Hunter has to be stopped. How could I have ever thought it didn't? Why did I think the cult trying to stop it was bad?

I don't know. I don't have time to find an answer.

All I have time for is to get there. Get to the prison. Find Tara and Morgan and get them home.

Everything else can wait.

The walk through the snow is arduous. I stare ahead the entire time, hoping to make out some sign of Tara up ahead.

Nothing.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the trees ahead start to let up.

And then we're there.

Out of the woods, and back into the clearing.

  
“Tara!” I call out.

_Music:[A Place You Don't Belong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHutKZ5fYT0)_

Tara turns to look at me.

“Mads? Is everything alright?” She asks. I'm dumbstruck by how bland the question is. The wind is gone as we enter the clearing. As if it was never even there.

“No! We need to get out of here! The White Hunter didn't agree to come! We didn't even ask it, Abigail think it's bad now!” I yell. I immediately regret that decision. It might have heard me.

“No, we aren't going anywhere.” I look to see who's speaking. In addition to Tara there's Morgan, Vera, and an older woman who I recognise from the photos as Constanze.

“Why not?” I demand.

“Because, we now have seven people here. Five are all we need to complete the ritual. I was worried you all might need some convincing, but it seems you've already convinced yourself the White Hunter is evil. So help me end this.” Constanze says.

I come to a stop.

Can we do that?

Is it the right thing to do?

I look at Sarah. At Morgan. At Tara. At Abigail.

None of them have the answers. None except Abigail.

Her look tells me one thing.

I'll make the right decision in the end.

The confidence in her eyes is enough. I know trust her. I take a deep breath.

**Tara**

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://youtu.be/RFAxGszmySU)_

I'm not a stranger to fucking up.

I've fucked up a lot of things in my lifetime.

Usually it's fine.

I bounce back, and life goes on.

When Mads burst into the clearing, I realised I'd fucked up today.

I'd fucked up bad.

I didn't realise quite how bad until I heard it.

The crunch of snow behind us.

I turn slowly, along with the others.

Across the clearing stands the White Hunter.

Tall, and proud, and defiant.

It gazes at us with intensity. Like it knows what we're thinking about doing.

I'm confident it does.

If not for Eysenfeld, I think I could say I've never been more scared in my life.

Instead this takes the second place.

“How kind of you to come out here...” The White Hunter speaks. It's voice is deep and rasping, like it's mouth isn't suited for it. It reverberates with multiple layers, and it slowly dawns on me it's not one voice. It's hundreds.

“We couldn't trap you here if we didn't.” Constanze hisses back. A tiny part of me wonders if that was a Jojo's reference.

“You can't trap me here anyway. You hardly have the magic to attempt it.” The White Hunter says. It's voice rings with mockery. A declaration of monstrous victory. It slowly stretches an arm out, and grabs the snow, before advancing in a long, slow gait.

“You can't run. I'll chase you down with ease. And outside this clearing the storm is picking up. You'll all freeze to death anyway. So let's chat, shall we?”

“What's there to chat about?” I ask. Why am I speaking? Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?

“I have so much to tell your new friends. About how their friends screamed as they died. The pain they went through. The way they were punished for their wicked hearts.” The White Hunter slowly circles around us. “And to tell you. How I was wrong. I won't be free if any one of you lives. Not after what you know.”

“What about only killing the wicked?” Abigail asks.

“Do you remember how I left that girl alive? The first good one who resealed me. The story says it's because she outwitted me. I say it's because she was pure of heart. The truth is, I was just weak back then. I couldn't bring myself to kill someone so innocent.” The White Hunter explains. It steps between the two groups, leaning into Abigail's face.

“Now...I'll happily kill you all. Starting with the most wicked of the bunch.” The White Hunter hisses. It turns it's gaze slowly across the group, looking at each of us.

It lingers on Constanze.

Then it moves on.

Back to Mads.

And then to Sarah.

“This one.” It says.

There's a long, shocked silence.

_Music:[Ritual Soul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sisTnPLj_I)_

It's broken by a soft whispering beside me. The words are meaningless to me, but I can feel something in them.

Something ancient, and powerful.

I glance to the side.

Constanze has her eyes closed, and is muttering fast.

I can feel something move in the air. Like something of me is being pulled into her. Like something of the world around us is being pulled in.

The White Hunter wheels about, roaring in fury.

Constanze doesn't stop.

“You dare try this when I am right here?” The White Hunter it demands. It leans forward, a hand snatching out suddenly. It grabs Constanze, and lifts her into the air.

Constanze keeps going. If anything she gets louder now, openly vocalising the words. Beside me Morgan gasps softly. I guess she recognises something about them, even if I don't.

“Insolent.” The White Hunter growls. It squeezes it's hand down on Constanze.

I hear bones snap, and the words are cut off by a scream.

The White Hunter lets go, and Constanze falls to the ground, limp and broken.

“Not dead yet. You can wait until last.” The White Hunter announces. I barely hear it.

My head starts to swim.

The world is overwhelming.

For a second I think I'm sick from seeing what happened, but as I see colours swim around me, I realise it can't be it. I look around. Everyone else looks sick, and confused.

Everyone except Mads.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Into Another World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hg6mrtinLE)_

As Constanze drops, I feel something change.

It's like the world is clearer. Everything makes so much more sense.

Time seems to go slow.

I look around. Everyone else seems sick.

For a second I don't understand why.

The answer comes to me in a flash.

Magic.

Constanze was gathering magic.

And now it's everywhere.

It's too much magic. No one should be able to handle this much magic.

But I have before.

I can do something.

I look at the White Hunter, and for the first time, I see it.

Not just it's body, but it's very spirit. What makes it...it.

I can see it's purpose, laid out in front of me.

It is a protector. That's what it does. It protects this valley.

Hunting the wicked is just how it was told to do it. And then it was locked away, and it made a promise.

The promise is like a chain, wrapped around it's heart, binding it's purpose and stopping it from pursuing it.

There's a truth in that promise too. Part of it is right. Part of it is what it's job was to do. But it's been twisted over the years. It's all wrong now.

I take a step forward, and reach out for the White Hunter. It turns to stare at me suddenly. It's a move faster than my eyes can process.

I don't flinch. I place my hand on it's nose.

“You are free.” I state calmly. “You don't have to hunt the wicked any longer.”

The White Hunter recoils. It looks confused. Hurt. Afraid.

“What...” It growls. I understand.

“I was a Fairy Queen once.” I state calmly. “And as a former queen, I free you from your duty.”

“I cannot be without a duty.”

“Then I will give you a new one. Protect this town, according to what it needs. Meet with Vera, and with Constanze, and see what they think needs to be done. Watch over the town, and protect it from wild animals and storms, war and famine.” The words flow from my mouth before I can truly process them, and I know in some ways this isn't me.

This is whatever was left of my time as queen. The small shard of knowledge left behind. The wisdom of a past queen. The White Hunter regards me for a moment. Then it bows it's head.

“I shall serve.” It replies. And then it's gone, bounding off into the trees once more.

I let out a sigh, and almost drop.

I'm almost spent. That was almost all of the magic in the air, and almost all the magic left inside me.

I muster what I have left. Both energy, and magic, and step forward. I walk over to Constanze, and drop to my knees.

As the White Hunter stated, she's not dead.

I press my hands to her skin, and focus on my magic. The final bit of knowledge I have left.

I push all my magic into this act, and heal her.

Then I pass out.

\--*--

_Music:_ [ _A Thousand Years or More_ ](https://youtu.be/ZooyIV2lOZI)

When I wake up, I'm in a bed.

It's warm, and I can hear the sound of another storm outside.

It's perfect. I just want to close my eyes and sleep more.

The thought is disturbed by something moving in the bed with me.

For a second my sleepy mind goes to panic. It's too clouded to really get there, so it's just alarmed and hoping the problem goes away when I realise it's just Abigail, snuggled up beside me.

“Good morning.” She says softly. She stares up at me with such pure adoration that I feel like I'm going to die.

“Good morning. Wait, is it actually morning?”

“No, it's pretty close to dinner time actually.” Abigail admits. She leans up and kisses me softly. I return the kiss happily.

“What happened?” I ask.

“That's what we want to know. We watched Constanze get injured, then everyone felt really sick. Then when we feel better we find you passed out on top of Constanze who was fine.” Abigail replies.

I nod slowly, trying to piece it together.

“I think I commanded the White Hunter to listen to Constanze and Vera. And then I healed her.” I say.

It feels wrong as I say it. As if it wasn't really me who did those things. Like it was someone else, just acting through me.

“How could you...y'know, not feel sick?” Abigail asks. I chew my lip.

“I'm not sure. It all feels...wrong, now. When I think back on it. I think maybe I had some magic left over from being fairy queen, and that's what let me do it?” I suggest.

I take a moment to think. To really think, about how I drew on my memories of magic before. The way I could infer that the White Hunter wasn't evil. Whatever I drew on then, I can't find again. I remember the certainty with which I knew it then, but I can't find that same certainty now.

“Yeah...I think it's all used up now.” I say. I lean back into the bed and let out a loud sigh. I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad to find that.

“I'm sorry.” Abigail says softly. I shake my head.

“I don't mind. Maybe this means we won't have to go running around in wintery forests any more.” Abigail laughs softly, and smiles at me.

“Speaking of which, it turns out Vera is the one who could control the weather. She made the storm outside for Tara. And she said she can make it clear for us tomorrow. So let's go on that picnic.” Abigail says.

I can't help but laugh. After everything that's happened, Abigail's thoughts drift to our picnic.

“That sounds nice.” I reply.

“Hey Abby! Is Mads up yet?” Tara's voice booms from the hallway.

“If I wasn't, I would be!” I call back. Abigail laughs again.

“Cool. Dinner's almost ready! We're having a quickie!” Tara shouts. Abigail frowns.

“But we still have guests. Why would they...” She trails off.

“She means quiche.” I explain.

“Why wouldn't she say that? Doesn't she know how it's pronounced?”

“It's...a reference to a meme.” I sigh. Abigail still seems confused, but she doesn't bother questioning it further.

We climb out of bed together, and head out into the living room.

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

The atmosphere in the main room is surprisingly jovial. The fire is roaring, and Sarah, Constanze and Vera are sitting around the room, along with Tara. To my surprise, they're all chatting quite happily.

From the kitchen, Morgan walks out, followed by, to my surprise, William.

“Why is he here?” I ask softly.

“Constanze invited him. I think they've spent half the day catching him up on what's happened.” Abigail explains.

“There she is! The hero of the day!” William shouts. He gives me the biggest grin, and walks over to me quickly.

“It's so nice to meet you Miss Madison.” William thrusts his hand at me.

“Maddie is fine, thank you.” I reply, taking the offered hand.

“I'd love to hear all about what happened. I've been hitting a bit of a wall with my latest work if I'm being honest, but hearing about everything that's happened under my nose, I've been more inspired than ever. I'd love to include a character based on you in my next book!” William declares.

“I'd be flattered, thank you.” I say.

“Look at that Mads, another person creating something in your likeness to say thank you.” Tara teases.

“I'm not sure which to be more excited about.” I reply. Abigail and I make our way over to the table. It's a lot more crowded this time.

“What was the last thing?” Vera asks as I sit down.

“A fairy.” I reply.

There's a long beat of silence from our guests.

I take the opportunity to serve myself some quiche. Normally I'd wait, but I think I've earned the first slice today. And besides, now that I'm here, I realise that I'm starving.

The conversation picks up again a moment later, with more questions about the fairy, and then about Eysenfeld in general.

William has a lot of questions about our investigation here, which Tara is happy to answer. For some reason he's flattered when he discovers he was a suspect.

We also get the chance to learn a bit more about the cult, and how everything started. It's a surprisingly innocuous tale. Constanze was looking for books on fairy tales, and stumbled on the story of the White Hunter.

From there, she did a bit more research, and uncovered a stash from a previous leader, which included tutorials on magic. She saw the opportunity to live a long, happy life with her husband, and tried to take it.

I can't actually blame her. It's just a shame a few lives were lost along the way.

I feel less bad when Vera describes her past conversations with them. It seems they all had similar aspirations to use the White Hunter's power. None of them were as simple as a long happy life.

Vera however, didn't want to use it for anything. I suppose that explains why the White Hunter didn't see her as wicked.

With all of the important questions answered, the conversation turns to the mundane. Even after we've finished eating no one wants to leave the table. We talk, and laugh, until finally it's too late to continue.

As our guests go to leave, Vera waves a hand at the window, and the storm quiets down.

It's kind of amazing to me that she really does command such power.

And then they're gone.

“So...now what?” Tara asks.

“We go to bed?” I suggest.

“I'm not tired.” Tara argues.

“I'll go make us some coffee.” Morgan says.

We end up migrating to the couches. Morgan returns shortly with coffee, and we all start drinking.

“Okay, but I didn't mean like...tonight. I mean now what about...Arkrick.” Tara says.

“Do we have enough B-roll to make an episode?” I ask.

“I think so?”

“Then we should go home, right?” Tara sighs.

“I guess. I dunno. It feels weird to just...leave, so suddenly.”

“What else can we do?”

“I dunno.” Tara replies.

“Why don't we take one more day?” Abigail suggests. “So Madison and I can go out and have our picnic, and you can go film a little more B-roll, and if you want go try and find the White Hunter.”

“Why on earth would they want to find the White Hunter?” I ask. I look at Tara. Her face has lit up. “Oh, you want to try and interview him again, don't you?”

“Yeah!” Tara exclaims. I sigh.

“Why did I expect anything different?”

**Tara**

_Music:[Episode One](https://youtu.be/MQbiV_1aU7M)_

My leg bounces as I sit in the car, waiting for Morgan. We decided we needed more B-roll of the prison, and that while we're out there we'll try and attract the White Hunter.

I ended up sleeping in a bit, but once I was up, and had breakfast and coffee, I got ready as quickly as I could.

Too quickly it seems, as Morgan is still getting the camera stuff together.

While I'm waiting, I'm given one last chance to wish Mads was coming with us.

Filming with her again was so much fun.

Not that I don't appreciate working with Morgan. That's great too.

But filming with Mads again...it just felt special.

Finally Morgan comes out of the cabin. She waves to Mads, and then plods down to the car. She tosses the camera gear into the back seat, and then climbs in next to me.

“Ready to go?” She asks.

“You know it!” I reply. The car's already started. Mostly so I could have the heater on.

I start the drive in to town. From what I heard from Sarah, Mads made this drive like a lunatic when we were heading out.

I'm sad I didn't get to see it.

This drive, is sadly uneventful. We park in the same spot as yesterday, and once again trudge out to the prison.

The walk takes a bit, but soon enough we're there.

_Music:[Spiritus Arboreum](https://youtu.be/RFAxGszmySU)_

Something about this place feels different the moment we step into it. It doesn't look any different, and we set up the camera to start filming, but it feels different.

It feels like a home now.

We spend a while getting the shots we need. Slow pans across the prison. Static shots of the prison with the sky in the background, watching the few clouds drifting along slowly.

We're taking the last shot, both of us staring through the small screen as it records, when it's abruptly ruined. A large, white, furry arm slams into it.

We look up abruptly. In all it's glory, the White Hunter sits before us, midway through climbing out of a tree.

Morgan immediately pans the camera on to it, and we watch it climb out of the tree, and slowly approach us.

“Uh, hi.” I say. What else could I say right here?

“Good morning.” The White Hunter responds. It's voice is the same raspy echo from the day before, but it lacks the menace it had then.

It draws a few steps closer, before it's body shimmers, and vanishes. In it's place steps out Ada. She's wearing a surprisingly sharp suit and a scarf, which she tosses over her shoulder as she approaches. It. It's still the White Hunter.

“I apologise for having to take a face so...tragically lost, but my options are limited, and I prefer the slimness of this one's form.” It explains.

“It's fine. So uh...nice day, huh?”

“It is. But I don't think that's why you're out here.”

“Right. Yeah...yeah it's not. We uh...well, I was wondering if I could like...interview you? One more time?” I ask. Ada smiles. It's the most genuine smile I've ever seen on her face. It's a small shame it's not hers.

“I'd love that!” The White Hunter replies, with so much enthusiasm I'm blown away with how cute it is.

**Maddie**

_Music:[Snowy Days](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcoB96zkDg0)_

Lying on a picnic blanket in the middle of a snowy woods with Abigail is a very surreal experience.

We checked with the maps, and found a place that had a nice stream. Something to remind us of the fairy glade back in Eysenfeld.

It's no where near as pretty, but it's close enough to bring back all the memories.

Except this time we can feel the cold on our faces. We can enjoy the sensation of lying on a blanket. Well, I'm not sure if enjoy is the right word for the way it crumples and folds under us. But we can feel it.

And most importantly, we can eat some rather delicious food.

I don't know how Abigail got her hands on a bottle of brandy, but she somehow managed it. We've been drinking it together, slowly, for the better part of an hour. It's interspersed with snacking on the sandwiches and finger food that Morgan prepared for us.

“Do you ever wish we could run away?” I ask. I'm not sure where this question came from. I suspect it might be the brandy talking.

“Every day.” Abigail replies. She pauses, gathering her thoughts, before she continues.

“It's not that I'm not happy with our life. I wouldn't give it up for anything. But whenever I see you smile, or hear you laugh in the other room, I just want to steal you away from the world. Take you somewhere where you can just be all mine.” I laugh.

“Funny. I was just thinking it'd be nice to run away to Hawaii.” I tease.

“That would be nice too. Maybe we could find a private beach. Turn it into a nude beach for the day.” Abigail sighs. I laugh again.

“I'm amazed someone who was born two hundred years ago has such an insatiable sex drive.” I reply.

“Well, I spent most of those years alone. It's only natural I want to make up for lost time.”

“You have all the time in the world darling. I'm not going anywhere.”

“Eventually we'll die.” Abigail replies. It's a sombre note for such a jovial conversation.

“And I'll die happy, knowing I spent my life with you. And I'm sure if there is an afterlife, I'll enjoy spending all of it with you too.” I declare.

“Or we could find another tree spirit to save us again.” Abigail teases.

“I think I've had enough spirits for a lifetime.”

“I disagree.” Abigail picks up the brandy, and pours a little more into my glass. “Though after this, maybe enough for today.” I snort, and start laughing. It's not that funny, but the smoothness with which Abigail delivered that line, and the brandy I've already drunk, it's exactly what I needed.

“I am so in love with you.” I say. I reach over to the plate of finger food, rolling as I do, and pick out a piece of cheese, before plopping it into my mouth.

This is perfect. Everything is perfect.

“I love you too.” Abigail replies.

“I can't wait to be home. This was nice. It was nice to remember our time in Eysenfeld, and...have a bit of a new adventure. A happier one, where I wasn't fighting with Tara, or dead. But now I just...I want to go back to our normal, happy, mundane lives.” I declare. Abigail scoots closer to me, and places a hand on my back.

“Me too. But I think I'd like one final bit of magic before we go.” She says. I look up at her. She's staring down at me with that sly look I know so well. Abigail plucks the wine glass from my hand, and places it gently aside, before leaning down to kiss me.

\--*--

_Music:[Cold Comforts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcn1pLmdtE)_

Of everything that happened here, I expected boarding the train home to be the most surreal of all. It was the most surreal part of the trip to Eysenfeld, and I expected it to be the same here.

Instead, it's comforting, and nostalgic. A part of my heart aches as we step onto the train.

It's not that I'm sad to leave Arkrick behind.

I'm glad, honestly.

But having done this twice...when I'm in the moment of these adventures, time feels so slow.

It feels like nothing else in the world matters.

Part of me longs for that feeling to last.

Part of me wants this to go on forever.

I know it can't. And that's okay.

I settle down onto the chair beside Tara, and look over her shoulder.

She's going over the footage of her interview with the White Hunter again.

It came out great, if I'm being honest. The Hunter was caught dead on turning into Ada and back, and the questions are clear and interesting.

It's going to be a hit episode for sure.

“Do you mind if I help edit this one?” I ask.

“Huh? Didn't you already say you were going to?” Tara replies.

“I mean, yes. But I was also saying that to cheer you up. I wanted to be sure you were okay with it.” I explain.

“Mads, you're welcome back any time. You know that, right?” Tara says. I pause. Did I know that?

Sort of, yes. I expected it. But I'd never actually asked. And to tell the truth, since being frozen out of the Eysenfeld investigation, a part of me thought I was stuck on the outside. Just a helper when they needed it.

“I know...” I reply. My voice betrays how touched I feel right now.

Tara picks up on it, and leans over to hug me. I hug her back as tears start to roll down my cheeks.

They're good tears.

Even now, I don't want to return to Taranormal. Not yet.

But I think I want Taranormal in my life. Somehow. Some day.

Maybe it will get bigger. Become a serious brand.

Especially with the episode we have now.

I suppose a book deal might be back on the table.

I'd be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind when I asked to be part of the editing process.

My thoughts are interrupted as the train pulls out of the station.

We all turn and stare out the window. I don't expect to see anything.

Instead there's Sarah, Vera, Constanze and Ada. Standing on the end of the platform, waving to us as we leave. Knowing one of them is an ancient shapeshifting monster makes it one of the strangest send offs I've ever had.

But then, this was one of the strangest trips I've ever had.

Not the absolute strangest. But up there.

And hopefully not the last strange trip, I realise as we turn a bend, and our last glimpse of Arkrick is gone.

I don't think I'll ever see the town again.

But I know the memory of it will change my life forever.

Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's it. That's the end of the fic. Clocking me in at 54,649 words on my doc, which should be about...20 words over for chapter markings? So my GUESS is this is 54,631 words. We'll see if I'm right when I post this.  
> EDIT: Somehow the file on my computer has LESS words! What the hell?
> 
> I'm sorry if it feels a bit rushed. I went back and forth on how it'd end exactly so many times, but a big thing I wanted to focus on with this fic was making things sort of rhyme with the original. That's why the setting is so similar, that's why there's dangerous snowstorms, and a local guide reaching out, and a train in, and why, ultimately, it had to be Maddie saving the day. I toyed with some other ideas, like Sarah stepping up to be the "head" of the ritual to seal away the White Hunter again, but that didn't feel right to me. Sarah's just...not that important, y'know? I had a similar idea with Vera, but that didn't pan out either. So instead we get this.
> 
> If this was an actual fic and not the off-the-cuff writings of someone who just wanted more HotW in his life, I'd probably go back and edit a lot of things, give some minor characters more time in the spotlight to really, y'know, matter. But I think for a work where I didn't have much of a plan, this came out okay.
> 
> I'm not DONE, mind you. I still owe you guys a cute date, and if it's gonna rhyme, that means there's gotta be a short little epilogue section to show how they're doing afterwards.
> 
> This one's just gonna be a bit longer, because at the end of the day, we all just want to spend more time with these girls we love right?
> 
> That said, not sure when that one will be done. Whenever I next feel the itch to write, I suppose. But probably soon, as I'm starting to look at my projects after this, and I'm excited about my options.
> 
> So, as always, comments are appreciated. Thank you all for coming along on this journey with me. It's been really fun.


	10. Epilogue 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Why's there a one in that chapter title? WELL. I realized before I even started this epilogue I wanted to write two epilogues. So here you go Temporary, the cute fluffy date I promised you. I tried my best to give Morgan and Tara a bit more time but I'm not too comfortable with writing their relationship, so I'm not sure how well I did. Final epilogue will come...eventually. I don't know how long it'll take because I don't know how long it'll be, but probably shorter than this one.

** Morgan **

_Music:_ [ _Episode One_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)

Working on editing the Taranormal episode with Maddie properly part of the process, I'm reminded just how big the gap between us is.

Where I fumble and debate how to best handle a scene, Maddie seems to have an instinct for how to frame every piece of content, and when to deliver it for best effect.

What I do in a day, she manages in a few hours. It's astounding, and mildly intimidating.

Despite that, she included me in every decision, and deferred to me most of the time. Midway through the editing process I pulled her aside and asked why.

She explained that since I was editing the show now, she didn't want the episode to clash with my style. Episode is being polite. It ended up being a miniseries. That led to a bit of an argument, and by the end we agreed to split the difference. It was our project, together, and it should show.

It ended up being the best set of episodes of Taranormal ever. And not just because of the content.

It also was one of the most time-consuming projects I'd ever undertaken. Which was unfortunate, as it ended up delaying the double date that Tara insisted on since we got back from Arkrick.

We agreed that we'd go after we finished the episode.

Then it became a miniseries, and the date had to be pushed back a bit.

After two weeks of hard work it was done, and we booked a place for dinner.

And then Abigail fell sick, and we had to cancel.

By the time we set up another date, the first episode had gone live.

We avoided putting in anything that would indicate we actually found anything in the first episode, framing everything around the big storm, and then ending on a cliffhanger of heading into Joseph's house.

Just that alone was a big success.

Enough of a success that Tara got invited to a podcast that would be filmed right when our date was planned. So it got pushed back again.

And then the second episode came out.

This one contained the big reveals. Joseph in the cult. Maddie and Abigail recounting how they were threatened by the cult. The beginning of the investigation. And most importantly, the footage with Joseph in the background.

And just like that, everyone wanted to talk to us.

The date got postponed again.

It wasn't until two months after we got back from Arkrick that we finally, actually reached the night of our double date without it needing to be cancelled.

\--*--

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

Where to go on the date was a week long discussion in and of itself.

Tara naturally suggested we just go to McDonalds. She was shot down immediately. After a bit of debate we settled on a fancy, yet affordable restaurant and bar that Maddie drives past to get to college.

Maddie has a late class tonight, so we opt to arrive separately. Abigail is going to catch a bus over to pick up Maddie, and bring her a change of clothes, and then we'll meet up at the restaurant.

“Tara, if you don't hurry up you're going to be late.” I call for the third time. I've been ready to go for the past ten minutes.

“I'm coming!” Tara calls back. She steps out of the bedroom a second later, and leans on the door frame, trying to act suave.

She's really cleaned up today. Her clothes are still casual, but they're all new, and they've actually been picked with some amount of taste. I can tell from the look on her face she's trying to impress me.

It's working too.

It's just unfortunate her smug look only lasts a second. As soon as she sees me her eyes go wide, and her face starts to turn red.

“Damn Morgan, you look great tonight.” She says. “Do you think they'll mind if we're like, thirty minutes late? Cause...y'know...we could just...” I laugh softly.

I went out shopping for a suit for just that reaction. It's not a particularly formal suit, the jacket is meant to be worn unbuttoned, which makes the whole thing look far more casual than it would otherwise. If not for that small concession, I'd probably feel over dressed.

“Thank you, but I'm sure Maddie would be livid you were late, and then tease you forever about letting the romance die.” I say. Tara finger-guns at me.

“Worth it.” I roll my eyes.

“I'd also like to not get everything creased too early in the night. Come on. There'll be plenty of time after.”

“I'm holding you to that.”

We step outside, and get into the car. The air's a little chilly, as winter hasn't quite passed us by yet. A few more weeks and the weather will start turning again, thankfully. Once we're both in and settled, Tara starts the car, and we head off.

“Where are we going again?” Tara asks. I sigh.

“I'll get the GPS on.”

** Maddie **

_Music:[Communion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I4lTCPaEJs)_

Stepping out of my class to see Abigail waiting for me is the nicest experience I can imagine. Her face lights up as she sees me, and she waves a little. As if I could have possibly missed her.

“Hi there.” I say as I walk up to her.

“Why hello.” She replies, a sly look crossing her face. For a second any implication is lost on me. Then it clicks, and I blush a little.

“That's not fair. Especially not when you're looking so beautiful.” I reply. She really is. She's wearing a long, white dress, with a pale purple jacket over it. The same colour as the dress she wore as a ghost.

I'm always a little surprised that she holds onto that colour so much. But then, she spent 200 years wearing it. I suppose at this point it's something she'll associate with herself for the rest of her life.

I'm certainly not complaining. I think it suits her perfectly.

“Thank you.” Abigail replies. There's a cheeky smile on her face, as if to acknowledge how she's completely ignoring my complaints. “Is there a place around here for you to get changed? I brought your clothes up, but I realised I didn't know where you'd go to change into them.”

“I can just change in the toilets, it's fine. They're this way.” I say. I set off in the direction of the nearest nice toilets. I quickly learned that the most accessible ones are rarely pleasant to be in. The ones out of the way are always nice however, and their remoteness has the added benefit of usually giving some privacy.

It doesn't take long for me to get changed. Letting Abigail pick out my outfit turned out to actually be a wonderful idea. I was concerned she'd pick something a bit crass, given her appetite, but she's gone for something simple and elegant.

The fact that I'm wearing the same jacket I wore to Eysenfeld isn't lost on my however. She's loved that jacket since we got back.

“Okay, ready to go?” I ask as I step out. Abigail stops to stare at me for a moment, before nodding.

“Ready.” We hook our arms, and head for the car.

Getting out of the car park ends up taking as much time as the drive to the restaurant.

“How was your day sweetheart?” I ask as we wait for the line of cars to move.

“Dreadfully lonely without you, but otherwise fine.” Abigail teases. “I spent it putting together a request video.”

I'm so proud of the fact Abigail has picked up how to edit the videos for her channel. For someone once so clueless about the modern world, she's come so far.

“What was the request?”

“Someone asked me to sing Get Low.” Abigail replies. I glance out the corner of my eye at her to see if she's serious.

“You mean, the to the window to the wall song?” I ask. I hope it's not the one I think it is. Abigail nods.

“That's the one.” She says.

“How uh...how did you find it?”

“It was fun! I hope I can do more songs like this. There's so much music that's come out in the past twenty years, I don't know how I can keep up with all of it.” Abigail says. Her excitement is so genuine I can't help but smile.

To be fair, the image of such a crass song being sung with her beautiful voice is amusing. I can understand why people would request it.

“I think there's a bit of a niche of that already.”

“How so?”

“I mean, cute girls singing hip hop like that is something that's been done. Usually girls with soft, high pitched voices.” I explain.

“Well, I suppose I'll have to make it a brief diversion, so I don't get too irrelevant.”

“You? Irrelevant? Everyone would have to be blind and deaf to not appreciate you.” I say.

“You're flattering me again.”

“I mean it.”

“I know you do. I just know that you're biased. But thank you.” Abigail says. Her voice is soft. I glance over at her to find that she's blushing a little. I smile.

“You're welcome.”

“How was class?”

“Boring as ever. I'll be glad when I'm done.”

“How much longer do you have?”

“Two more semesters. Though next one is going to just be my final project before I graduate. So it's like I've only got one semester to go.” I explain.

“What's the final project?” Abigail asks. We've spoken about this before, but with everything that's happened the past few months, I can't blame her for forgetting.

“I have to make a short film, basically, and then write a paper about it, and how it relates to another piece in terms of techniques used, and my intentions behind everything.”

“I'm sure you'll make something amazing.”

“Thanks, but I don't even have an idea yet.”

“I believe in you.” Abigail smiles at me. It's so genuine any doubts I might have had about my ability are simply washed away.

“Thank you.” I reply. Finally we reach the end of the car park, and we fall into our usual comfortable silence. It doesn't take that long to reach the restaurant.

_Music:[Episode One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

Tara and Morgan are already waiting for us when we arrive.

“Hey you guys!” Tara calls as we get out of the car.

“Hey. You good to head inside?” I call back.

“You know it.” Tara replies. We step inside, and Morgan steps up to handle the booking. It's still a little strange to me seeing her handle the responsible side of our outings. It makes sense, of course, she's the adult in the Taranormal production now.

We're quickly shown to our table, and get settled in at the booth.

It really does feel like a double date, I realise.

There's a little bit of small talk as we go through the menus to pick out what we want. Abigail picks out lasagne, while I end up going for a cheeseburger. Whenever I'm reminded of Eysenfeld, I get a small craving for simple, easy comfort food, and wearing the jacket that I wore there, while on a date we planned in a town like Eysenfeld is enough to bring it back.

“I hope this is as good as spaghetti is.” Abigail remarks. In the past year and a bit, she's been trying food from all over the world. It makes sense, I suppose. She wouldn't have had much variety back in her day. I'm always a little surprised when there's something she still hasn't tried, but I suppose it's not that strange. She's only had around 400 days to try foods, and we often eat at home.

“It's even better if you ask me.” Tara replies.

“Oh good. If that's the case, I think Italian might be my new favourite type of food.” Abigail declares.

We don't have long to wait before the waitress comes over and takes our order. Once she's gone, Tara clears her throat.

“So, uh, Mads. I know this is meant to be a double date and all, but I uh...I wanted to chat a little about work.” She says.

“Wasn't that the thing that disqualified all of your other dates?” I tease.

“Shut up. This is...kinda important.” Tara says. I nod.

“Okay, I'm listening.” If Tara says it's important, then it must be. Or she's going to say she found Elvis.

“Well, we've gotten a bunch of offers since we put out the Arkrick episode. Including a panel and a book deal. I was wondering if, y'know, you wanted to be part of that.” Tara says.

“Wait, seriously? What kind of book deal? How big of a panel?”

“The book is about Arkrick, but they mentioned we could put in details about other stuff if it was relevant, and it didn't just have to be me. So I thought we could write it together.” I nod along. That's code for me writing most of it. Not that I mind. “And the panel is a main stage thing. They're offering us a seat for all four of us.”

I take a deep breath as I think about it. It's a lot to take in.

“I'll get back to you at the end of the date.” I declare.

“Come on Mads, you can't keep me waiting like that!” Tara whines.

“I need some time to think about it.”

“Alright, I guess it can't be helped.” Tara sighs dramatically. She's clearly playing it up. Probably to make herself feel better about the wait.

I don't feel guilty at all.

_Music:[The Time of Smiling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G4qv_uv2L8)_

“Okay, enough work.” Morgan announces.

“Right, right. How was school Mads?” Tara asks. I shrug.

“Boring as usual.”

“You could always come back to Taranormal then.”

“What did I say?” Morgan says. Despite the edge in her tone, she's clearly smiling.

  
“Right, yeah. What about you Abby? I think I heard you singing earlier right?”

“That's right. I was singing Get Low for a video.” Abigail answers. Oh no. Tara's eyes go wide.

“What? And I missed it? Please please please tell me you'll sing it again for me.”

“Maybe. We'll have to see what Madison thinks.” Abigail replies. She glances at me with her typical mischievous look.

“You can watch the video when she uploads it I'm sure.” I reply. Tara sighs.

“You're no fun. Morgan always lets me hear her sing.” She grumbles. I'm fairly confident that that's an innuendo.

“I'd say it's usually a duet. But I'd be impressed you can hear me. I always thought you drowned me out.” Morgan shoots back. Tara pauses, and blushes a little.

That's been a common occurrence this past year. Seeing Tara get beaten any time she tries to flirt still hasn't grown old to me.

The conversation mellows out for a bit, as we go back a bit further in our catching up. We avoid talking about how the episode is doing for the most part, but it has to come up. It's been keeping Tara and Morgan very busy after all.

It's slow, and there's some pauses, but it's never awkward. If anything we're just all hungry. Then, finally, the food arrives. We all get started eating, and for a few minutes it's just that.

“So, what's the plan after this?” Tara asks with a mouthful of food. I roll my eyes.

“We could go see a film?” I suggest.

“Is there anything good on?”

“I assume so. I haven't checked lately.”

“Alright Abby, I have bad news. I don't think Mads made it back from Arkrick. Clearly this just the White Hunter pretending to be her.” Tara teases.

“In that case I'm very impressed by it's vocal range. I'd assume it couldn't handle keeping it's screams together, but I suppose I was wrong.” Abigail replies. My face goes bright red. Both Tara and Morgan laugh. Tara is loud enough to attract some annoyed looks from a few other tables.

“So anyway, does that sound like a good plan? We could go out drinking or something otherwise.” I try and change the subject.

“I think that sounds good.” Morgan replies.

“I'm happy so long as I'm near you.” Abigail adds. I'm glad my cheeks are probably still red enough to hide the blush I can feel in response to Abigail's comments. Somehow she's so genuine and pure, I still get blown away by it.

“So long as we can see a comedy. Or an action movie!” Tara says.

“Film.”

“Whatever Mads. Aren't you going to tell me action films are stupid or something?” Tara asks, putting a mocking emphasis on the word film. Despite her teasing, I can tell from her smile she's not actually trying to insult me.

“Not at all. Action films have a lot of value, and take a lot of skill to execute well. We've broadly worked out the best techniques for framing action, but there's still a lot you can convey with your shot composition and choice.” I start to explain. I could keep going, but I can already see Tara's eyes glazing over. “But, I can tell you about that another time.” I quickly cut myself off.

“I'd love to hear about it Madison.” Abigail offers. I love her.

“Me too. I might be able to apply some stuff to Taranormal.” Morgan replies.

“I doubt you'd be able to apply it to Taranormal, but it couldn't hurt. We don't exactly put together action scenes.”

“Yet!” Tara interjects. I roll my eyes. This isn't the first time Tara has promised an action-packed future to the show. She hasn't delivered on a solid premise to get it working yet.

** Tara**

It doesn't take long for us to finish eating and head out. I'm a little disappointed by how quickly we're leaving. It feels like the date isn't...really much of a date.

But then again, I am walking out the door with an arm around Morgan, about to take her to a movie. That's pretty date-like.

Mads handles the bill, and Abby's still with her, leaving just Morgan and I standing alone outside.

“So, does this count so far?” I ask.

“I think so.” Morgan replies. “If nothing else, you're obviously making an effort.”

“That's more than I do for most things.” Morgan laughs softly. She turns a bit, and reaches to pull my face towards her. I let her pull me to the side, and then her lips are pressed to mine.

It's sudden, but not at all unwelcome. It's become a bit of a habit for us in our time together. It comes and goes as we get stressed out by work, but sooner or later something will happen to provoke one of us into a sudden, excited kiss.

We hold the kiss for what feels like an eternity. I'm not too sure how long it's been.

“Ahem.” Long enough for Mads to have finished paying, it seems.

We break the kiss, and I look at Mads sheepishly.

“She started it.” I say. Morgan and Abby laugh softly, while Mads just sighs.

“Let's get going.” We all pile into the car, with Mads driving, and make our way to the cinema. It's nice, getting to hang out with everyone again.

It's especially nice hanging out in a capacity I'm allowed to kiss Morgan whenever I want.

I steal another kiss in the back seat, just because I can.

Soon enough we arrive, and get in line to order tickets. We spend the majority of our time in the line just debating what we'll see.

We settle on a comedy, despite my best efforts. I'm ready to die on this hill, until Morgan gives my hand a soft squeeze, and says she'd like to see the comedy too. Any fire I had in me dies, and I give up the fight.

So long as Morgan's happy, I'm happy. Besides, this is what I expected when I suggested the movies.

Finally we reach the front of the line, and I step up to order the tickets, as well as popcorn and an ice cream for myself.

“Anyone else want anything?” I ask.

“I'm stuffed.” Maddie replies.

“I'm good thanks babe.” Morgan says. I look to Abby. She's positively beaming at me.

“Popcorn please.” She replies.

“My girl.” I reply, before turning back and finishing the order. I make sure to get everyone a drink too, just to be safe.

It's not long before we've gotten everything, and settled into the movie. Looking around at the lack of a crowd in here, I guess it's been out for a while.

As soon as the previews start and the lights dim, I stretch, and place an arm around Morgan.

“Very smooth.” She teases softly.

“When am I ever not?”

“I'm sure I can think of a few times.” Morgan breathes into my ear. The closeness, the warmth of her breath, and the tone of her voice combine to send a shiver down my spine.

“That's really not fair.” I whisper back. Morgan lets out a soft, smug hum, and moves back to just leaning against me.

I love her so much. The fact she can always disarm me so effectively is incredible.

Frustrating as hell, but incredible.

The previews come to an end, and the movie starts. It's pretty good. I end up laughing a lot, and Morgan and Abby join me.

I think I hear a few laughs from Mads too, but I'm not surprised she's not super into it. Even I can see that the technique is a bit basic. Even so, there's a few bits that seem to catch her off guard, and she laughs just as hard as the rest of us.

When the movie ends, I'm both kind of disappointed, and very relieved. It was funny, and I think a few more jokes would've been good, but it was also starting to push it's luck. If it went longer than a few more, I think I'd be annoyed at it.

“So, how'd we like it?” I ask on the way back to the car.

“The cinematography was terrible, but the writing was pretty good. It was a shame really, I think it could have been very good if not for the directing.” Mads replies.

“I liked it.” Abby says simply. She's beaming at Mads with nothing but pride. She does this a lot when they watch movies together. Mads still seems to find it charming.

“It was alright. At least it was funnier than the last movie we watched.” Morgan replies.

I wince, and try not to think about it. For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to introduce Morgan to Adam Sandler. It wasn't.

We reach the car, and all pile back in.

“So, did that count as a date Mads?” I tease from the back seat.

“It will after we stop for ice cream.” Mads replies.

“But I already had ice cream.” I protest. I'm not actually protesting. Double ice cream sounds great.

“I'm not going to deny Abigail just because of your poor planning skills.” Mads says.

“Sounds like a date then!” I say. Mads groans. Morgan at least laughs.

Then she leans over and kisses me again.

“Thank you.” She says softly. I nod.

“Yeah...let's...y'know...do this again.” I whisper back. Morgan nods, seemingly satisfied. She moves back to sitting safely in the car as Mads gets up out of the car park, and on to our next, albeit short, adventure.


	11. Epilogue 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, the last epilogue of Deeper into the Woods. I actually wrote this one like, the day after posting the last epilogue, but I never got around to posting it since I wanted to let it sit for a bit. This has been a lot of fun, and I appreciate everyone who stuck with me through it all. I'm so glad that I got the main body of it all done before the VA patch went live. Though I'm mad because I finished my own playthrough to get in the zone for the date epilogue literally 2 days before it dropped, so I've only seen half of the VA lines thus far. I'll go back to it in a few weeks or months when the story isn't quite so fresh in my mind I think.
> 
> Now that it's all finished, I can also confidently say that I've written over 70% of all of the words in fan fiction about Heart of the Woods. I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of that claim, but I'm confident it's one of them. Maybe both. Because of that, despite all the fun I've had writing about them, I don't imagine I'll be doing anything else in this fandom for a while. At least, not until my ratio is closer to 50%. 
> 
> If you're curious about what else I do, I've got an incomplete Citrus fanfic that I don't recommend you read as it's bad, an incomplete Little Witch Academia fanfic which I do recommend you read because I might actually finish that one one day, and I'm working on a game that's uh...similar to the 18+ patch, let's say. If you wanna know more about that you can join the Discord channel I have about it here: https://discord.gg/zBhqsHt I'm there all the time so it's also a fine place to just lurk and pester me about what else I might be thinking of writing in the future. Until then, I hope you all enjoy this final little bit, and as always, comments are appreciated!

**Maddie**

_Music:[Episode One](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQbiV_1aU7M)_

“C'mon Mads, we're gonna be late!” Tara whines. The irony of her accusing me of making us late is staggering.

“We've still got plenty of time. The panel isn't for another hour.” I reply as I do one last check over my bags to make sure I've got everything.

Lots of empty space?

Check.

A large pile of cash?

Check.

A secret list of things Abigail's mentioned she likes?

Check.

“Yeah, but they said to get there with at least fifteen minutes to spare to get us all ready. And you know how hard it is to navigate a convention floor for me.” Tara continues.

“Yes I do. Which is why I made sure that we can take a staff entrance to get there.” I reply. Across the room Morgan and Abigail are looking very amused.

“But, I wanted to check out some of the stalls!” Tara protests.

“And that would be the reason we'd be late.” I say. “I'm ready, let's get going?”

“Please.” Morgan replies. She gets to her feet and gives Tara a quick kiss, before leading her out the door of their hotel room.

Abigail comes up to me a second later, and takes my hand, giving it a hard squeeze.

“Nervous?” She asks. I take a deep breath and nod.

“A little. I imagine it's worse for you.”

“Not really. I don't have any idea what to expect, so I'm more curious than nervous.” Abigail says.

“I'm sure that'll change when we get there.” I tease.

“It's a good thing I'll have you beside me the whole time.” Abigail flirts. I laugh, and we head out after Tara and Morgan.

When Tara offered the panel I wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea. I ended up thinking about it through the end of the date, and decided to go for it. What's the worst that happens? It's my final time ever working with Taranormal because of how bad it is? I already quit, so it wouldn't be a terrible outcome.

The walk out to the panel is a little difficult at first. Mostly because so many people are using the halls and elevators that it takes about 10 minutes to get downstairs. From there it's easy. We approach one of the staff doors and flash our guest badges, and through we go.

As I predicted, we're there half an hour before we're meant to go on, and get to spend most of the time just hanging out until it's time.

I can see Abigail getting more and more nervous as she realises just how big the crowd she's speaking in front of is.

I don't blame her. Reality is sinking in for me too.

Tara however, seems even more fired up than usual.

Once the last guest departs, the staff start getting the stage set up for us, and we're given a quick brief on how it'll all work. It's just a Q&A panel, thankfully, so we'll be sitting at a desk in a line, and people with questions will form a line to ask either a question for one of us, or a general question.

It doesn't take long for the set up to be done, and then we're lined up and sent up. I do my best to at least look at the crowd as we walk out.

Predictably, Tara waves enthusiastically at them all.

“Hey everyone! Thanks for coming!” She calls out before she even reaches a microphone.

Somehow, seeing her be herself helps me calm down.

We sit at our spots, and I notice we've each got name plates in front of us. All of them have our real names on them, except Abigail's who has her channel name “AbiGayIRL” on it.

I still can't believe that Tara actually got her to do that.

I feel a little bad for the girl who used it in a message to us. She might've been using it already, and then this happened.

The host starts to explain how the event will work, as well as introduce us for anyone who might just be rocking up for no reason. When he gets to Abigail, I can see a lot of confused looks around the audience.

“Hey, I'm just gonna cut you off real quick and answer a question I'm sure someone's gonna waste their time asking. Abigail's here because she went with us to Arkrick, since she's Mads' girlfriend. So yeah.” Tara jumps in to the introduction.

The host takes a second to recover, but pulls it off admirably. It doesn't take much longer to get to the first question.

“Hey, I was wondering where you found Morgan to be your new manager? There wasn't like, any news anywhere about Maddie leaving, you just suddenly had someone new.” The first girl in the line asks.

“That's a great question! We actually met her in Eysenfeld, and after everything that happened, it just seemed natural she'd join us. And it also happened to coincide with Mads deciding to leave, so it was just natural.” Tara answers. The girl nods, seemingly satisfied, and moves on.

“Hi, I'm a pretty new fan, I only started watching you because of your Eysenfeld episode, but I went back through your whole backlog after that, and it was mostly pretty great.” The next boy in line starts.

“Please don't remind me of our first episodes.” Tara laughs. The boy laughs too.

“But anyway, I had a question for Morgan, which is how was it coming in to a show with so much history and having to pick up half of the work on it?”

“Well, I think it was more like picking up three quarters of the work, but it wasn't so bad. I'd been a fan for a long time before I started, and Mads was there to teach me everything I needed to know. I think the biggest hurdle was Tara and I working out our dynamic when we were out filming. Since she'd been with Maddie for so long, it took a few tries before we got the hang of what worked for us.” Morgan explains.

“I know this is kinda breaking the illusion of it all, but I gotta know. How did you do the special effects for the White Hunter?” The next boy steps up to ask a question. More a man, really.

“There were no special effects in that episode. Well, no more than usual.” I answer. “Everything you see on camera happened. We did edit some of the sounds though.”

“Okay but really. How'd you do it?”

“I got this one Mads.” Tara interjects. I shoot a questioning look at her. She misses it, already staring at the fan. “This one was probably the hardest episode to get the effects for. You see, we had to actually go all the way to a small town in Germany, and find a real cryptid, and then convince it to let us film it. It was pretty dangerous, but of course, yours truly was up to the task.” I lean away from the microphone to chuckle a little. Judging by the crowds laughing, I'm not the only one who found that funny.

The man seems frustrated, but doesn't push it any further. He steps aside, and lets another girl take her question.

“Um, question for AbiGayIRL. What was it like filming this episode? I mean, obviously Tara and Maddie are used to this sort of thing by now, and Morgan was there in Eysenfeld, so I assume she is too, but you haven't done anything with crytpids before right? Was it scary?”

“Actually, I found it very refreshing.” Abigail replies. “I've probably spent more time than all of them combined interacting with the supernatural, so being able to experience something tangible again was a nice change of pace.”

“Can you elaborate on that please?”

“I'm afraid I can't, sorry.”

“Okay, thank you anyway!” A few more questions zoom by, mostly directed at Tara. Some of them towards Morgan. A few of Abigail's fans use this opportunity to ask her about her own channel instead.

“This question is for Maddie. I always loved listening to your talks about films during the Halloween specials. Have you ever thought about making your own channel for that sort of thing? I'd love to watch it if you did.” A young woman asks. I pause, thinking.

“I honestly never thought anyone would be that interested. I suppose I could put one or two together and see if there's enough interest.” I say. The woman beams.

“Please do! I think you'd be great at it!” She says. I smile.

“Thank you.” There's a few more questions that are directed at Tara or Morgan. Then an interesting one comes up.

“This is for Tara. Do you think the show would've been better if you gave Maddie more time on camera?” Oh no.

“Yes. Absolutely. It's always a blast when Mads gets on camera, and I think that's the thing I miss about working with her the most.” Tara answers. She looks around quickly and grins. “Who here agrees with me?”

To my surprise, a decent portion of the audience raises their hands. More than half, at least.

“Who thinks it would be worse?” No hands.

“See Mads? I always told you they loved you.”

“I believe what you said was they loved you for bringing me on camera.” I reply.

“That's practically the same thing.” The audience chuckles at our banter.

“What have you been doing since you left Taranormal Madison?” The next question brings the laughter to an abrupt halt. I pause, thinking if I even want to answer this question.

“I've been studying for my Film degree actually.” I reply. “It's something I put on hold for Taranormal, but I wanted to make sure I got it before it was too late for me to consider looking at something else down the line.”

“Follow up question, if I can?” The host nods. “Are you ever going to come back to Taranormal?”

I take a deep breath. There it is. The million dollar question. The one I've been dreading since I agreed to do this panel.

I'd planned to say no. There's no reason for me to not say no now really. But somehow, seeing the answer to Tara's question about me, I can't help but feel moved. I take a deep breath, and then sigh.

“I can't say for certain what form it will take, but yes. Some day, in some capacity, I will return to Taranormal. Assuming Tara will have me, of course.”

“What a dumb question. Of course I will.” Tara says. This gets some laughs from the audience. And then, applause. I don't know what to do about this. So I just stare, and smile.

Maybe I was wrong when I thought Taranormal was all about Tara after all.

**Author's Note:**

> And yes I know Maddie's color is off I don't care it's the best the basic formatting has and I'm too lazy to make my own.


End file.
